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Life  of 

James  Q.  Blaine 

"The  Plumed  Knight" 

EDITOR,    REPRESENTATIVE,    SPEAKER,  'SENATOR,    CABINET 
MINISTER,  DIPLOMAT  AND    TRUE  PATRIOT 


A  Graphic  Record  of  His  Whole 

Illustrious  Career,  from  the 

Cradle  to  the  Grave 


PROFUSELY  ILLUSTRATED  , 


BY   WILLIS   FLETCHER  JpHNSON,   A.M. 

Author  of  "Life  of   Sherman,"    " Stanley    and    His    Adventures,'* 

•'History  of  the  Johnstown  Flood,"   "Sitting  Bull  and  the 

Indian  War,"  "  My  Country,  'Tis  of  Thee,"  Etc.,  Etc. 

Copyright,  A.  R.  Kellar,  1892 


SOLD  BY  SUBSCRIPTION    ONLY 


ATLANTIC  PUBLISHING  Co, 
1893 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1893, 
By  D.  B.  SHEPP, 

an  of  Congress,  at  Washington,  D.  C 


rights  reserved. 


S  0.  A. 

/ 


PRESS  OP 

ALFRED  M.  SLOCUM  Co. 
PHILADA. 


PREFACE. 


Bancroft,  writing  of  the  American  Revolution,  de 
clares  that  its  history  is  in  the  letters  of  the  great  men 
who  took  part  in  it.  More  widely,  it  is  also  to  be  said 
that  the  history  of  any  era  in  any  State  is  in  the  rec 
ords,  of  words  and  of  works,  of  the  great  men  who  fig 
ured  therein.  The  annals  of  olden  times  are  largely 
catalogues  of  battles.  But  the  story  of  ancient  battle 
ignores  the  rank  and  file,  and  tells  us  of  the  individual 
combats  of  the  leaders.  Of  parliamentary  battles  in 
later  ages  the  same  is  true  ;  and  the  record  of  progress, 
in  science  and  literature  and  morals  and  invention,  and 
in  all  the  arts  of  civilization,  has  each  paragraph  adorned 
and  vitalized  with  the  rubricated  name  of  some  great 
man  or  woman. 

Thus  also  is  it  seen  that  the  full  history  of  any  im 
portant  individual  involves  the  history  of  the  time 
and  State  in  which  he  lived.  One  could  scarcely  desire 
a  better  history  of  the  Revolution,  than  must  be  given 
in  an  adequate  biography  of  Washington.  A  life  of 
Luther  is  a  comprehensive  chronicle  of  the  German  Re 
formation.  The  story  of  Lincoln  is  the  story  of  negro 
emancipation  in  America. 

M111570 


PREFACE. 

In  the  present  instance  it  is  not  intended  to  attempt 
a  work  of  such  a  character.  A  complete  history  of  any 
man  cannot  be  written  in  his  own  age,  A  full,  impartial 
and  philosophic  estimate  of  his  worth,  and  of  the  extent 
and  importance  and  effectiveness  of  his  work  in  the 
world,  can  only  be  made  when  he  has  passed  into  a  more 
extended  prospective  than  contemporary  vision  affords. 

It  is  possible,  however,  in  considerable  measure,  to 
separate  the  individual  from  his  environment,  and  to  tell 
the  simple  story  of  his  personal  doings.  Especially 
well  may  this  be  done  in  the  case  of  such  a  forceful  and 
distinct  personality  at  that  of  James  G.  Elaine.  It  will 
be  to  paint  a  panorama,  in  which  the  central  figure 
stands  forth  conspicuously,  outlined  in  bold  relief,  while 
his  comrades  and  all  the  landscape  about  them,  are  but 
faintly  sketched. 

James  G.  Elaine  was  for  many  years  the  most  eminent 
man  in  American  political  life.  In  the  National  House 
of  Representatives  he  made  an  enviable  record  as  a 
painstaking  committeeman,  an  eloquent  orator,  an  un 
surpassed  debater,  and  a  dignified,  commanding  and 
impartial  Speaker.  In  the  Senate  he  easily  ranked  in 
the  foremost  class.  As  Secretary  of  State  he  con 
ducted  the  foreign  affairs  of  the  nation  with  a  broad 
and  courageous  and  skillful  statesmanship  that  has  won 
the  admiration  of  the  world.  As  a  party  leader  and 
Presidential  candidate  he  enjoyed  such  loving,  loyal  and 
enthusiastic  following  as  is  scarcely  to  be  paralleled  in 
history. 


PREFACE. 

To  trace  the  progress  of  such  a  career  is  a  most  grate 
ful  task  to  the  historian,  as  it  must  be  fruitful  of 
pleasure  and  of  profit  to  the  reader.  It  is  to  furnish  a 
text-book  of  American  patriotism,  a  picture-book  of  many 
of  the  most  thrilling  scenes  of  retent  years,  a  story 
book  of  narratives  equally  truthful  and  fascinating, 
equally  instructive  and  entertaining.  Such  is  the  task 
that  in  these  pages  is  essayed.  However  far  it  may  fall 
shorten  execution,  of  the  ideal,  it  is  at  least  undertaken 
with  sincere  devotion  to  the  theme  and  with  an  earnest 
purpose  to  reveal  the  subject  with  entire  truthfulness 
and  with  as  much  completeness  as  may  be  possible  within 
the  compass  of  the  present  volume. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
ANCESTRAL   MEMORIES 

The  Scotch-Irish  Settlers  in  Pennsylvania — The  Bkines — A  Friend  of 
Washington— Important  Services  in  the  Revolution — Country  Gentle 
men  of  the  Old  School — Founding  of  the  Economite  Community — 
Ephraim  L.  Elaine  and  Maria  Gillespie — Their  Home  on  Indian  Hill 
Farm,  West  Brownsville *  7 

-CHAPTER  II. 
CHILDHOOD  AND  STUDENT  LIFE. 

The  Influences  of  Heredity — A  Characteristic  Incident  of  Childhood — First 
Studies  at  Home — At  School  at  Lancaster,  Ohio — Entering  Washing 
ton  College—  The  Roll  of  His  Classmates— His  Leadership  in  College 
Life — His  Rank  as  a  Student — Little  Participation  in  Athletic  Games 
— Incidents  of  Student  Life — An  Original  Demonstration— The  Pro 
gramme  of  Commencement  Day — The  Prophetic  Subject  of  Hi*  Com 
mencement  Oration. 3° 

CHAPTER  III. 
THE  TEACHER. 

Flans  for  a  Life  of  Teaching — His  First  Engagement  in  Kentucky — An 
Entire  Change  of  Environment — Difficulties  of  Flis  Position — Leader 
in  a  Free  Fight — His  Courtship  and  Marriage— I lis  Contact  with 
Slavery  and  His  Views  Thereof — Development  of  a  Strong  Anti- 
Slavery  Sentiment — His  Return  to  the  North — Studying  Law  and 
Teaching  the  Blind— His  First  Book— Removal  to  the  Pine  Tree 
State 45 

CHAPTER  IV. 
THE  EDITOR. 

Political  Condition  of  the  Country — The  Slavery  Question  Dominant — Mr. 
Bl-aine's  Removal  to  Augusta  and  Editorship  There — Samples  of  His 


CONTENTS. 

Vigorous  Writing — His  Share  in  the  Organization  of  the  Republican 
party — A  Delegate  to  Its  First  National  Convention — His  First  Stump 
Speech — Advocacy  of  the  Principles  of  the  New  Party — Removal  to 
Portland — Three  Years  of  Service  in  the  Maine  Legislature 63 

CHAPTER  V. 
REPRESENTATIVE  IN  CONGRESS. 

Some  of  His  Colleagues  in  His  First  Term — Relations  with  President 
Lincoln — Speeches  on  the  Draft,  the  Enrolment,  and  Other  Topics  — 
Defence  of  the  State  of  Maine — Opposition  to  the  Greenback  Craze — 
Three  Terms  in  the  Speakership — A  Lively  Controversy  with  General 
Butler— The  Salary  Grab— Leader  of  the  Minority— A  Strong  Declara 
tion  of  Political  Principles — Close  of  His  Career  as  a  Representative.  .  101 

CHAPTER  VI. 
FIGHTING  THE  SOUTHERN  LEADERS. 

The  Debate  on  the  Proposal  to  Restore  Jefferson  Davis  to  Full  Citizenship 
— Action  of  the  Forty-third  and  F"orty-fourth  Congresses — A  Powerful 
Speech  by  Benjamin  H.  Hill,  of  Georgia — Mr.  Elaine's  Reply — The 
Incident  that  Gave  Him  the  Title  of  "the  Plumed  Knight."  ....  151 

CHAPTER  VII. 
DEALING  WITH  SLANDER. 

A  Carnival  of  Scandal  Hunting — Newspaper  Insinuations — Charges  in 
Congress — Mr.  Elaine's  Effective  Reply— Fresh  Accusations — The 
Mulligan  Letters— Political  Objects  of  the  Investigations — Mr.  Elaine's 
Recovery  of  the  Letters — His  Production  of  Them  in  the  House  of 
Representatives — The  Suppressed  Despatch  from  Caldwell —  A 
Dramatic  Scene  in  the  House — Mr.  Elaine's  Triumphant  Acquittal  at 
the  Bar  of  Public  Opinion. 174 

CHAPTER  VIII. 
THE  SENATOR. 

A  Prominent  Position  Quickly  Taken  in  the  Upper  Chamber — Opposition 
to  the  Electoral  Commission  and  to  the  Southern  Surrender  Policy  of 
President  Hayes — Discussion  of  the  Southern  Elections  Question — 
Opposition  to  the  Bland  Silver  Bill — Restriction  of  Chinese  Immigra 
tion — Defeating  a  Democratic  Conspiracy  in  Maine — The  Shipping 
Interests  of  the  Nation , 209 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  IX. 
NATIONAL  SOVEREIGNTY. 

The  Congressional  Deadlock  and  Political  Debate  of  May,  1879 — The 
Question  of  State  Rights  versus  National  Sovereignty  at  Issue — Ad 
dresses  by  Great  Party  Leaders — Senator  Eaton's  Presentation  of  the 
Democratic  Side— Mr.  Elaine's  Reply— Full  Text  of  His  Masterly 
Oration. • 222 

CHAPTER  X. 

1876  AND  1880. 

Interest  in  the  Political  Contest  of  the  Centennial  Year — The  Rival  Re 
publican  Candidates — Mr.  Elaine's  Prostration — Presentation  of  His 
Name  at  the  Cincinnati  Convention — Colonel  Ingersoll's  Speech — 
"  The  Plumed  Knight" — Nomination  of  Governor  Hayes — The  Con 
vention  of  1880 — The  Third  Term  Question— Steadfastness  of  the 
Grant  and  Elaine  Forces — A  Long  Deadlock — The  Final  Compromise 
on  Garfield 258 

CHAPTER  XL 
SECRETARY  OF  STATE. 

Appointment  to  the  Chief  Portfolio  in  the  Garfield  Cabinet — Mr.  Elaine's 
Letter  of  Acceptance — Salient  Features  of  His  Foreign  Policy — Con 
troversy  with  England  over  the  Neutrality  of  the  Panama  Canal — 
Death  of  Garfield  and  Accession  of  President  Arthur — The  Invitation 
to  the  American  Republics  to  Hold  a  Peace  Congress — Object  of 
these  Negotiations — Mr.  Elaine's  Retirement  from  Office — Abandon 
ment  of  His  Plans  by  His  Successor — Mr.  Elaine's  Vindication  of  His 
Policy 283 

CHAPTER  XII. 

IN  MEMORIAM. 

The  Eulogy  on  Garfield — An  Impressive  Scene  in  the  Hall  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  at  Washington — A  Distinguished  Audience  in 
Attendance — Eminent  Fitness  of  the  Speaker  to  the  Theme — Memo 
ries  of  Sixteen  Years  Eefore — An  Eloquent  Review  of  the  Career  of 
America's  Second  Martyr  President— The  Full  Text  of  the  Oration.  .  316 


CO  v/v  -\"fs. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 
THE  CONVENTION  OF  1884. 

Mr.  Blaine  a  Candidate  for  the  Third  Time — Meeting  of  the  Convention — 
The  First  Skirmish— The  Declaration  of  Principles— The  Various 
Candidates  Placed  in  Nomination — Speech  of  Judge  West  in  Behalf 
of  Mr.  Blaine — Scenes  of  Unparalleled  Enthusiasm — Steadfast  Sup 
port  for  President  Arthur — Mr.  Blaine  Nominated  on  the  Fourth 
Ballot — Address  of  the  Committee  Informing  Him  of  the  Result — 
Mr.  Elaine's  Reply 365 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
THE  LETTER  OF  ACCEPTANCE. 

The  Opening  of  Mr.  Elaine's  Campaign— A  Statesmanlike  Discussion  of 
the  Issues  of  the  Day — The  Revenue  Laws  and  the  Protective  Tariff- 
Agricultural  Interests  of  the  Nation — Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce 
— Labor  and  Capital — Relations  with  Foreign  Nations — The  South 
American  Republics — The  Civil  Service — The  Mormon  Question — 
The  Freedom  and  Purity  of  the  Ballot 392 

CHAPTER  XV. 
THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884. 

A  Bitter  and  Exciting  Political  Contest — The  Standard -Bearers  of  the  Two 
Parties — Personal  Attacks  upon  Mr.  Blaine — The  Mugwump  Defection 
—The  State  Election  in  Maine — Mr.  Elaine's  Tour  through  the  Coun 
try — His  Visit  to  New  York— The  Delmonico  Dinner — The  Visit  of 
the  Clergymen—"  Rum,  Romanism  and  Rebellion  " — Some  Reckless 
Lying— Effect  of  the  Mischief— Result  of  the  Election— Mr.  Elaine's 
Comments — The  Cleveland  Administration 421 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
A  CHALLENGE  AND  ITS  ANSWER. 

Free  Trade  Brought  Forward  as  the  Leading  Is?"e  of  the  Democratic 
Party — President  Cleveland's  Message  on  the  oubject  in  December, 
1887— Text  of  the  Document  that  Sounded  the  Key-note  of  tne 
Coming  Campaign — A  Prompt  Reply  by  Mr.  Blaine  by  Cable  from 
Paris — Report  of  the  Memorable  Interview  between  Mr.  Blaine  and 
Mr.  George  W.  Smalley— Its  Effect  upon  Public  Opinion  and  Poli 
tics  in  the  United  States 467 


CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER    XVri. 
AMERICAN     DIPLOMACY. 

The  Convention  of  1 888— Mr.  Blaine's  V\'ork  in  the  Campaign — The 
Harrison  Administration — Mr.  Blaine's  Second  Term  as  Secretary  of 
State — The  Samoan  Affair — Extradition — The  Pan  American  Con 
ference — Reciprocity  and  its  Results — American  Pork  in  European 
Markets — The  Fisheries — Bering  Sea — Controversies  with  Chili  and 
with  Italy — A  Notable  Chapter  in  American  Diplomacy 514 

CHAPTER   XVIII. 

THE  MAN. 

Foreign  Travels  and  Literary  Work — The  London  Times'  Estimate  of 
"  Twenty  Years  of  Congress  "—Mr.  Blaine's  Home  at  Augusta  -  His 
Washington  House — Ilis  Bar  Harbor  Cottage — The  Children  of  the 
Household — A  Brief  Glance  at  Some  of  Mr.  Blaine's  Personal  Char 
acteristics 531 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
THE  LAST  CAMPAIGN. 

Mr.  Blaine  Declines  Further  Political  Preferment  and  Retires  from  the 
Cabinet — The  Minneapolis  Convention  and  the  Campaign  of  1892 — 
Mr.  Blaine's  Failing  Health — His  Wonderful  Struggle  Against  the 
Foe— His  Death 536 

CHAPTER   XX. 
FINAL  TRIBUTES. 

An  Outburst  of  National  Grief—  Words  of  Tribute  from  Chauncey  M.  Depew, 
Senator  Hoar,  Ex-Secretaries  Fish  and  Evarts,  Henry  Watterson  and 
others — Dr.  MacArthur's  Version  of  the  Burchard  Incident— The 
Funeral  Services  at  the  House — At  the  Church  of  the  Covenant — At 
the  Grave  in  Oak  Hill  Cemetery— The  End 552 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


James  G.  Elaine, Frontispiece 

Birthplace  of  James  G.  Blaine, 19 

Burial  Place  of  Elaine's  Parents,  . 38 

Washington  and  Jefferson  College, 55 

Philadelphia  Blind  Asylum, 74 

Philadelphia  Almshouse, 91 

Elaine's  Mansion,  Augusta, no 

House  of  Representatives, 127 

Roscoe  Conkling, 146 

Wm.  Windom, 163 

U.  S.  Senate,      182 

Elaine's  Mansion,  Washington, 199 

Senator  Geo.  F.  Edmunds,     .  • 218 

Robert  T.  Lincoln, 235 

Blaine  Retiring  from  the  Senate, 254 

James  A.  Garfield, 271 

Chester  A.  Arthur, 290 

State,  Army  and  Navy  Building, 307 

Convention  Building,  Chicago, 326 

John  A.  Logan, 343 

Grover  Cleveland, 362 

Thos.  A.  Hendricks, 379 


Capitol,  .    .    .   '. 398 

Rev.  Samuel  D.  Burchard, 415 

Wm.  McKinley, 434 

Bar  Harbor  Cottage, 45  r 

Harrison  and  Blainc  Families  at  Bar  Harbor,    .    .    .  470 

Walter  Damrosch, 487 

Benjamin  Harrison,      506 

Emmons  Blaine, 523 

Walker  Blaine,      » 542 

James  G.  Elaine's  Coffin, 563 

Burial  Ground  Blaine  Family,  Augusta,  Me.,     .    .    -  574 


CHAPTER  I. 

ANCESTRAL    MEMORIES. 

Fhe  Scotch-Irish  Settlers  in  Pennsylvania — The  Blaines — A  Friend  of 
Washington— Important  Services  in  the  Revolution — Country  Gentle 
men  of  the  Old  School — Founding  of  the  Economite  Community— 
Ephraim  L.  Elaine  and  Maria  Giilespie — Their  Home  on  Indian  Hill 
Farm,  West  Brownsville. 

Among  the  many  and  diverse  elements  which, 
during  three  centuries,  have  mingled  together  to 
form  the  American  Nation,  there  is  none  exhibit 
ing  a  more  persistent  and  commanding  individual 
ity  than  the  Scotch  Irish.  The  people  of  that 
stock,  who  migrated  hither  in  large  numbers 
before* the  Revolution,  seemed  to  possess  the 
very  qualities  that  would  insure  success  and 
leadership.  Their  transplantation — or  that  of 
their  ancestors — from  Scotland  to  the  North  of 
Ireland  had  imbued  them  with  the  colonizing 
spirit.  They  had  retained  the  philosophy,  the 
thrift  and  the  energy  characteristic  of  Caledonia, 
and  had  added  thereto  much  of  the  wit,  the 
versatility  and  the  personal  magnetism  of  the 
best  Hibernian  types.  Less  sombre  and  ascetic 
than  the  Puritans,  yet  far  more  practical  and 
serious  than  the  Cavaliers;  they  formed  a  golden 
mean  between  the  two.  Early  in  American 

17 


1  8  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 


y  vth£y|  btfgan  to  exercise  influences  greatly 
dfspfo'portiorisrte   to  their  numbers,  and  down  to 
h'e  £>f<esbot  flay,  h'a-ve  continued  to  be  a  singularly 
vital'and  sYfes'sful  force,  in  trades,  and  businesses, 
and  the  learned  professions,  and  also  in  public  life. 

By  an  interesting  coincidence,  they  not  only 
occupied  a  place  spiritually  and  intellectually  be 
tween  New  England  and  Virginia,  but  the  actual 
geographical*  settlement  of  many  of  them  was  in 
a  similar  position.  Following  after  Penn,  they 
made  their  homes  in  the  fertile  valleys  and  among 
the  picturesque  mountain  ranges  of  the  region 
that  bore  his  name  ;  and  by  their  shrewdness  and 
enterprise  largely  contributed  to  the  growth  of 
that  colony  into  one  of  the  most  important  States 
of  the  Union.  Conspicuous  among  these  makers 
of  Pennsylvania  was  a  family  that  had  enjoyed 
much  prosperity  and  an  enviable  social  rank  in 
the  old  country,  and  that  now  placed  in  American 
history  a  name  already  famous  in  the  annals  of 
Scotland  —  the  name  of  Elaine. 

Concerning  the  first  generations  of  that  family 
in  America,  little  needs  here  to  be  said  ;  or  can  be 
said,  indeed,  because  of  paucity  of  information. 
They  were  well-to-do  people,  industrious  and 
progressive;  and  they  possessed  themselves  of 
several  fine  tracts  of  land,  some  in  the  western 
part  of  the  State,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Pittsburg 
and  along  the  Monongahela  river,  which  have 
since  proved  rich  in  iron  and  coal,  and  others  in 


ANCESTRAL  MEMORIES.  2  I 

that  beautiful  Cumberland  Valley,  which  is  one  of 
the  choicest  agricultural  districts  of  the  State.  It 
was  in  the  latter  region  that  Ephraim  Elaine,  the 
first  member  of  the  family  of  especial  concern  in 
the  present  writing,  chiefly  made  his  home. 

Ephraim  Elaine  was  a  close  friend  of  Washing 
ton  ;  a  simple,  but  much-m-  aning  fact.  The 
Father  of  His  Country  was  not  given  to  making 
a  public  assembly-room  of  his  heart.  He  guarded 
the  approaches  to  it  with  jealous  care.  No  comer 
who  could  not  give  the  pass-words  of  soberness 
and  truth,  of  loyalty  and  manhood,  might  hope 
for  entrance.  It  may,  therefore,  well  be  believed 
that  those  who  were  admitted  to  his  confidence 
and  friendship  were  men  of  moral  and  mental 
worth;  and  that  such' was  Ephraim  Elaine.  He 
was  not  only  a  friend  of  Washington  ;  he  was  his 
comrade  in  arms.  He  was  one  of  the  first  to 
join  in  the  armed  contest  for  independence  ;  he 
rose  to  the  rank  of  Colonel  in  the  regular  army, 
and  was  Commissary-General  during  the  last  five 
years  of  the  war.  Nor  were  his  militant  services 
in  camp  and  field,  great  as  they  were,  the  most 
important  that  he  rendered.  He  was  a  man  of 
wealth — for  those  times — and  of  wide  influence, 
and  he  placed  his  own  fortune,  and  persuaded 
many  of  his  friends  to  place  theirs,  at  the  disposal 
of  the  Government  at  a  time  when  dollars  were 
of  more  value  than  bullets.  On  more  than  one 
occasion,  when  the  Continental  Treasury  was 


JAMKS    (7.    BL  l!XE. 

empty,  he  advanced  large  sums  of  money  for  the 
purchase  of  supplies  for  the  troops,  thus  averting 
discontent  and  disaster.  Especially  during  that 
dreadful  winter  at  Valley  Forge  were  his  heroism 
and  self-sacrifice  of  inestimable  value  to  the  cause 
of  independence.  Washington  himself  awarded  him 
the  credit  of  saving  the  army  from  utter  starvation. 
After  the  war,  the  friendship  of  Washington  and 
Elaine  continued,  and  the  first  President,  together 
with  Hamilton  Knox  and  others,  was  glad  to  en 
joy  the  hospitalities  of  the  Elaine  mansion,  at 
Middlesex,  near  Carlisle. 

Ephraim  Elaine  died  at  his  home  in  the  Cum 
berland  Valley  in  1804,  leaving  his  eldest  son, 
James,  to  be  the  head  of  the  family.  The  latter 
was  intended  by  his  father  for  public  life.  He  re 
ceived  a  fine  education  and  was  then  sent  abroad 
to  study,  to  travel,  and  to  gain  that  cosmopolitan 
culture  that  could  only  be  acquired  by  residence 
in  the  European  capitals.  Having  at  his  disposal 
a  fortune  ample  for  the  gratification  of  his  tastes, 
the  young  man  devoted  year  after  year  to  this 
delightful  occupation.  He  had  become  familiar 
with  every  important  city  of  Europe,  and  a  wel 
come  member  of  its  best  society,  and  at  the  close 
of  the  Revolutionary  War  came  home  as  the 
bearer  of  some  special  despatches  of  great  im 
portance  to  the  Government.  He  returned  to 
Carlisle  endowed  with  all  the  intellectual  and 
social  wealth  that  he  had  gone  to  seek,  but 


ANCESTRAL  MEMORIES.  23 

without  that  ambition  for  political  preferment  for 
which  his  father  had  hoped.  Instead,  therefore, 
of  entering  the  public  service,  he  devoted  himself 
to  private  interests.  His  life  was  that  of  the 
country  gentleman  of  the  old  school ;  enjoying 
to  the  full  the  ease  and  pleasures  his  wealth  could 
command,  exercising  a  most  generous  hospitality 
and  offering  an  ever  ready  hand  and  purse  to 
every  good  cause,  of  charity  or  of  social  weal. 
He  did  not,  however,  lead  a  life  of  idleness. 
Ample  as  was  his  fortune,  he  paid  keen  attention 
to  its  enlargement,  and  showed  himself  a  shrewd 

o 

and  successful  business  man.  He  had  inherited 
from  his  father  extensive  lands  in  the  western 
part  of  the  State.  Rightly  believing  that  Pitts- 
burg  would  become  a  great  centre  of  trade  and 
manufactures,  he  increased  his  holdings  there,  and 
became  the  owner  of  a  tract  that  now  is  worth 
many  millions  of  dollars. 

The  eldest  son  of  James  Elaine  was  Ephraim 
Lyon  Elaine,  who  was  born  at  Carlisle.  His 
education  and  early  training  were  much  like  those 
of  his  father.  After  receiving  the  best  instruc 
tion  available  at  home,  he  was  sent  to  Europe, 
and  there  spent  several  years  in  study  and  plea 
sure-seeking.  Thence  he  went  to  South  America, 
and  to  the  West  Indies,  visiting  all  important 
places  and  familiarizing  himself  with  the  life  and 
the  interests  of  each  country.  His  father's  death 
recalled  him  to  Pennsylvania,  where  he  found 


24  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

himself  the  possessor  of  a  great  estate.  The 
family  home  was  at  Carlisle.  But  the  bulk  of  his 
lands  lay  further  west,  and  as  these  were  con 
tinually  increasing  in  value,  and  needed  close  per 
sonal  attention,  he  soon  found  it  desirable  to  re 
move  thither.  Accordingly,  in  1818,  he  settled  in 
Beaver  County,  on  the  Ohio  river.  Here,  and 
on  the  Allegheny  and  Monongahela  rivers,  he 
owned  thousands  of  acres  of  land,  mostly  covered 
with  timber,  and  at  that  time  giving  no  indication 
of  the  enormous  wealth  they  now  represent. 

Five  years  later  Mr.  Blaine  sold  to  the  com 
munity  known  as  the  Economites  for  only  $25,000 
the  tract  of  land  in  Beaver  County  on  which  their 
large  and  wealthy  village  of  Economy  now  stands. 
An  interesting  account  of  this  transaction  has 
been  given  by  Mr.  Jonathan  Lenz,  one  of  the 
principal  officers  of  the  Economites,  which  may 
properly  here  be  quoted.  The  community,  under 
the  leadership  of  Frederick  Rapp,  had  first  estab 
lished  the  town  of  Harmony,  in  Butler  County, 
Pennsylvania.  Thence  they  migrated  westward, 
and  built  the  town  of  Harmony,  Indiana,  in  the 
Wabash  Valley,  in  1814,  in  what  was  then  an  un 
broken  wilderness.  The  location  chosen  was  an 
unfortunate  one,  from  the  fact  that  it  was  swampy 
and  unhealthy,  and  the  strength  of  the  colony  was 
greatly  reduced  by  death.  Mr.  Rapp  finally 
called  the  people  together  and  suggested  that 
they  return  to  Pennsylvania,  but  on  putting  it  to 


ANCESTRAL  MEMORIES.  2$ 

a  vote  it  was  decided  to  give  the  new  Harmony  a 
further  trial,  it  being  suggested  that  by  clearing 
away  more  of  the  forest  they  might  be  relieved 
from  the  malaria  which  was  so  rapidly  thinning 
their  ranks.  This  was  done,  but  without  success, 
and  at  the  end  often  years,  in  1824,  it  was  de 
cided  to  turn  their  >faces  once  more  toward  the 
Keystone  State,  but  to  select  a  better  locality  than 
that  first  hit  upon  in  Butler  County.  Mr.  Rapp, 
with  a  chosen  band  of  men  from  the  colony,  started 
out  on-  the  6th  of  May,  1824,  and  reaching  the 
Ohio  river  embarked  on  the  steamboat  Plowboy 
for  Pennsylvania.  The  steamboats  of  those  days 
did  not  possess  the  speed  of  our  present  river 
palaces,  and  it  was  not  until  some  time  in  the 
month  of  June  that  they  landed  at  French  Point. 

Not  far  away  was  the  home  of  Ephraim  Lyon 
Elaine.  The  house  stood  well  back  from  the 
river,  in  a  small  clearing,  many  of  the  trees  cut 
down  to  make  room  for  it  still  lying  on  the 
ground  unburned.  About  a  hundred  yards  away 
from  it  on  the  river  side  the  ground  was  depressed 
and  swampy,  the  water  being  at  all  times  knee 
deep,  while  further  on  was  the  high  plateau  on 
the  margin  of  the  river,  weH  drained  and  in  a 
very  rich  soil.  A  bargain  was  struck  by  Mr. 
Elaine  for  the  land,  and  he  gave  possession  of 
the  house  in  about  two  months  after  the  purchase. 

"The  Blaines,"  continues  Mr.  Lenz,  who  was 
a  member  of  the  pioneer  party  of  Economites, 


26  /AMES   G.   BLAINE, 

"were  liberal  livers,  fond  of  good  horses  and 
hunting,  and  men  of  the  best  class  of  those  days. 
The  house  was  comfortably  and  even  elegantly 
furnished,  as  you  can  judge  by  looking  at  some 
ot  the  articles  we  purchased  from  them,  and 
which  we  have  had  in  constant  use  ever  since. 
Everybody  in  the  Society  thought  highly  of  the 
Blaines,  and  were  sorry  when  they  left  the  neigh 
borhood.  We  all  went  to  work  with  a  will,  and 
soon  had  a  number  of  log  and  frame  houses 
erected  and  ready  for  occupancy,  the  work  of 
clearing  the  ground  having  first  been  done.  Our 
first  church  was  a  large  structure,  built  of  shell- 
bark  hickory  logs  fifty  feet  long,  which  I  myself 
squared,  having  while  in  Indiana  learned  to  use 
the  broad-ax  as  part  of  my  trade  as  a  wagon- 
maker.  This  edifice  stood  for  fifty-five  years,  and 
was  only  torn  down  then  because  it  had  decayed 
and  become  shabby  looking.  When  we  had 
sufficient  house-room  in  the  settlement  Mr.  Rapp 
moved  into  the  great  house,  and  in  1825  the  main 
body  of  the  colony  joined  us. 

"  When  Mr.  Rapp  vacated  the  old  Elaine  house, 
it  was  determined  to  take  it  down  and  remove  it 
to  the  village,  there  to  be  re-erected.  At  its 
former  site  it  stood  against  an  embankment,  and 
the  lower  story  was  in  the  nature  of  a  basement. 
When  set  up  on  level  ground  it  was  a  large  two- 
story  structure,  as  you  now  see.  It  contains  all 
the  original  material,  even  to  the  plastering,  and 


ANCESTRAL  MEMORIES.  27 

has  been  used  by  us  as  a  school-house.  In  size 
of  ground  it  is  45  x  55  feet,  with  five  rooms  on 
each  floor,  most  of  them  being  very  large.  It 
had  been  occupied  by  the  elder  Elaine  ten  or 
twelve  years  when  we  bought  it,  and  consequently 
must  be  more  than  seventy  years  old,  yet  is  in  a 
good  state  of  preservation." 

The  wife  of  Ephraim  L.  Blaine  was  Maria 
Gillespie.  This  name  indicates  Scotch  origin. 
But  the  Giilespies  were  not,  like  the  Blaines, 
Presbyterians  in  religion,  but  ardent  and  devout 
Roman  Catholics.  Their  home  was  in  Fayette 
County,  Pennsylvania,  where  they  were  large 
land-owners  and  ranked  high  among  the  local  aris 
tocracy.  One  of  them,  Neal  Gillespie,  crossed 
the  Monongahela  river  into  Washington  County 
and  built  a  stone  house  on  his  farm  at  West 
Brownsville — known  as  Indian  Hill  farm.  Here 
he  exercised  a  country  gentleman's  hospitality, 
like  that  of  the  Blaines.  The  house  was  large  and 
commodious,  and  surrounded  by  gardens  and 
orchards,  with  vast  fields  of  grain  and  grass  and 
pasture  land  extending  along  the  river.  Not  far 
away  was  the  old  residence  of  Albert  Gallatin, 
and  many  other  notable  men  of  those  days  lived 
near  by. 

Maria  Gillespie  was  the  daughter  of  Neal  Gil 
lespie,  and  was  born  in  this  stone  mansion  at 
West  Brownsville.  She  was  noted  all  through 
that  region  for  her  remarkable  beauty,  and  was 


28  JAMES  ,Q.  BLAINE. 

still  more  esteemed  by  all  who  knew  her  for  her 
high  intellectual  and  spiritual  gifts.  Said  one  of 
the  "oldest  inhabitants"  of  that  neighborhood: 
"  I  married  the  sister  of  Ephraim  L.  Elaine,  and 
he  and  I  went  to  school  together,  and  I  knew  him 
nearly  all  his  life.  He  was  a  leader  in  mischief  in 
the  school,  and  always  a  lover  of  the  good  things 
of  the  world.  He  was  the  handsomest  man  I 
ever  saw,  and  his  wife  was  a  match  for  him.  She 
was  one  of  the  noblest  women  I  ever  knew.  She 
inherited  all  the  sterling  traits  of  character  and 
strength  of  mind  for  which  the  Gillespies  were 
noted."  Mr.  Elaine  and  Miss  Gillespie  had  been 
brought  up  in  the  most  widely  different  religious 
beliefs,  and  after  their  marriage  they  retained 
those  creeds  without  clashing  or  controversy. 
Each  respected  the  conscientious  convictions  of 
the  other,  and  to  the  end  of  their  lives  he  was  a 
Presbyterian,  she  a  Catholic.  By  her  consent, 
indeed  by  her  wish,  however,  their  children  were 
instructed  in  the  Presbyterian  faith. 

The  characteristic  thrift  of  the  Scotchman  was 
not  conspicuous  in  Ephraim  Lyon  Elaine.  It  was 
subordinated  to  the  open-handed  hospitality  and 
careless  ease  of  the  Celt.  As  a  result,  his  fortune 
dwindled.  From  Beaver  County  he  moved  down 
into  Washington  County,  and  settled  at  West 
Brownsville,  and  married  Maria  Gillespie.  He 
owned  a  considerable  tract  of  land  in  that  neigh 
borhood.  But  at  his  wife's  desire  they  made  their 


ANCESTRAL  MEMORIES.  2Q 

home  on  some  of  her  own  property,  known  as 
"Indian  Hill  Farm,"  adjoining  her  birthplace. 
Here  they  built  a  substantial  wooden  house,  two 
stories  high,  which  is  still  standing,  in  good  repair. 
It  is  close  to  the  road,  with  only  a  narrow  strip  of 
grass  in  front.  At  the  rear  there  is  an  ample  gar 
den,  extending  almost  to  the  Monongahela  river. 
Here  Ephraim  Elaine  and  Maria  Gillespie,  his  wife, 
lived  for  many  years,  and  here  their  child,  the 
famous  subject  of  this  history,  was  born  and  spent 
his  early  years. 

Impaired  fortunes  presently  compelled  Ephraim 
Elaine  to  seek  employment  in  the  public  service. 
For  a  number  of  years  he  was  Justice  of  the 
Peace  at  West  Brownsville,  and  was  consequently 
known  to  his  neighbors  as  "Squire"  Elaine.  Then, 
in  1843,  he  was  elected  Prothonotary  of  Washing 
ton  County.  This  made  it  necessary  for  him  to  re 
move  to  Washington,  the  county  seat,  taking,  of 
course,  his  family  with  him.  There  he  made  his 
home  for  the  remainder  of  his  life.  At  his  death,  his 
remains  were  interred  at  West  Brownsville, as  were 
also  those  of  his  wife  ;  and  at  the  present  time 
there  may  be  seen,  in  the  shadow  of  the  old,  time- 
beaten  village  church,  two  graves  marked  with  a 
single  stone,  bearing  the  inscription,  "Ephraim 
L.  Elaine  and  Maria  Gillespie  Elaine." 


CHAPTER  II. 

CHILDHOOD    AND    STUDENT    LIFE. 

The  Influences  of  Heredity — A  Characteristic  Incident  of  Childhood — First 
Studies  at  Home — At  School  at  Lancaster,  Ohio — Entering  Washing- 
-ton  College — The  Roll  of  His'Classraates — His  Leadership  in  College 
Life — His  Rank  as  a  Student — Little  Participation  in  Athletic  Games 
— Incidents  of  Student  Life — An  Original  Demonstration — The  Pro 
gramme  of  Commencement  Day — The  Prophetic  Subject  of  His  Com 
mencement  Oration. 

It  has  been  justly  observed  that  a  man's  educa 
tion,  to  be  complete,  should  begin  with  his  grand 
parents.  In  the  light  of  that  principle  the  boy 
that  was  born  to  Ephraim  L.  and  Maria  Gillespie 
Elaine  at  the  Indian  Hill  farm,  West  Brownsville, 
on  January  31,  1830,  began  his  education  in  a 
most  auspicious  manner.  His  ancestry,  on  both 
sides,  as  we  have  seen,  was  an  admirable  one.  It 
united  the  traits  of  thrift,  sagacity,  enterprise,  in 
dustry,  loyalty  to  the  State,  loyalty  to  kin  and 
friends,  intellectual  and  physical  vigor,  love  ofcu*lt' 
ure  and  love  of  adventure,  natural  leadership, 
and  indeed  all  the  qualities  of  the  best  American 
manhood  and  womanhood.  Assuredly  the  child 
that  should  inherit  such  a  nature  would  be  well 
equipped  for  whatever  lot  might  befall  him  in  life. 

These  advantages  of  heredity,  however,  cannot 
be  regarded  as  the  sole  reason  of  the  distinguished 


CHILDHOOD  AND  STUDENT  LIf-E.  3! 

success  attained    by   the    subject    of   this    work. 
Doubtless  hundreds  of  other  children  were  born 
in  the  S'tate  of  Pennsylvania  in  that  same  year  of 
equally    estimable    parentage  and    with    equally 
favorable  influences  of  ancestry  and  early  environ 
ment.     Nor  can  we  ascribe  his  high  achievements 
to  any  fortuitous  circumstance  of  early  or  later 
life.    There  are  those  who,  as  has  been  said,  have 
greatness  thrust  upon  them.  Some  event,  entirely 
beyond  the  compass  of  their  own  effort,  brings  to 
them   an   opportunity   of  distinction.     And  some 
have  even  attained  eminence  who  actually  had  not 
the  readiness  of  talent  to  embrace  and  improve 
such  an  opportunity  when  it  was  offered  to  them, 
but    literally    had   it    forced   upon    them.     Such, 
assuredly,  was  not  the  case  with  James  Gillespie 
Elaine.      He  was  no  more  born  to  greatness  than 
a  host  of  his  fellow- Americans  whose  names  have 
remained  unknown  to  public  record  and  to  public 
fame.     In  no  event  of  his  life  can  it  be  said  that 
greatness  was  thrust  upon  him.     Whenever  op 
portunity  of  meritorious   achievement   presented 
itself,  he  was  ready  in  spirit  and  able  in  talent  to 
improve  it.     But  even    such    circumstances    pre 
sented  themselves  to  him  in  no  extraordinary  de 
gree  ;    certainly    no    more   than    to    the   average 
American   of  his  time.     Only  one  alternative  is 
therefore  left :  to  regard  him  as  a  man  who  has 
achieved  greatness  by  the  force  of  his  own  inherent 
genius.     As  we  shall  unfold  the  chapters  of  his 


32  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

life,  one  by  one,  and  shall  review,  one  by  one,  his 
achievements  in  many  departments  of  human  in 
dustry  and  public  service,  this  fact  will  become 
more  and  more  apparent. 

He  was  born,  as  already  stated,  at  West 
Brownsville,  on  January  31,  1830.  He  received 
in  his  infancy  two  names,  James,  for  his  accom 
plished  orandfather,  and  Gillespie,  for  his  mother. 
Of  his  childhood  years  but  little  can  here  be  re 
corded.  The  parents  and  others  who  watched 
over  him  at  that  time  and  observed  his  growing 
traits  of  character  and  manifestations  of  spirit  and 
intellect,  have  passed  away,  leaving  no  record  of 
their  memories  of  him.  His  own  recollections  of 
his  early  years  are  not  sufficiently  clear  and  de 
tailed  to  shed  any  especially  interesting  light  upon 
that  period  of  his  history.  There  is  no  reason  to 
suppose  that  his  infancy  and  childhood  were 
marked  by  any  extraordinary  events,  or  indeed 
by  any  unusual  manifestations  of  genius  on  his 
part.  Like  other  children,  he  had  his  lovable  and 
winning  traits,  and-  now  and  then  his  fits  of  mis 
chief  and  naughtiness.  He  was  petted  and  be 
loved  by  his  parents,  and  now  and  then,  doubt 
less,  corrected  and  chastised.  Like  other  chil 
dren,  he  played  about  the  house  and  garden  and 
along  the  banks  of  the  river ;  he  had  his  cronies 
among  the  boys  and  girls  of  the  village ;  he 
robbed  biixls'  nests,  and  teased  cats  and  dogs,  and 
set  traps  for  rabbits  and  squirrels.  In  fact,  he 


CHILDHOOD  AND  STUDENT  LIFE.  33 

was  probably  just  an  average  healthy,  happy,  in 
telligent  child. 

A  single  incident  of  his  early  years  has  been 
put  on  record,  well  authenticated.  It  is  worthy  of 
repetition,  as  indicating  the  sturdy,  self-reliant 
and  aggressive  spirit,  which  has  made  him  in  later 
years  such  a  forceful  leader  of  men  in  many  a 
hot  campaign.  When  he  was  some  three  or  four 
years  old,  a  new  well  was  dug  near  his  father's 
house.  Attracted  by  the  appearance  of  the  work, 
he  toddled  up  to  the  spot  and  peered  over  the 
brink  into  the  excavation.  One  of  the  workmen, 
standing  below,  looked  up  and  saw  him,  and,  with 
the  view  of  frightening  him  away,  out  of  possible 
danger  of  falling  into  the  well,  made  an  ugly  face 
at  him  and  some  menacing  gestures  with  his 
shovel.  But  the  child  was  not  frightened.  To 
his  courageous  little  mind,  it  was  a  case  of  fight 
ing,  not  for  running  away.  Stooping  down,  he 
seized  from  the  pile  of  fresh  "earth  that  had  been 
thrown  out  of  the  well  clod  after  clod,  as  large  as 
he  could  lift,  and  hurled  them  down  at  the  work 
man,  crying,  "There  !  take  that !  and  that !  and 
that !  "  This  vigorous  bombardment  discomfited 
the  workman,  who  feared  that  the  little  fellow 
might  begin  throwing  stones  instead  of  clods, 
and  he  was  presently  glad  to  shout  for  help  at  the 
top  of  his  voice,  until  the  mother  was  attracted  to 
the  scene  and  led  the  pugnacious  little  fellow 
away. 


34  JAMES   G.   BLA2NE. 

The  account  already  given  of  his  ancestors  for 
several  generations  shows  that  they  were  a  family 
earnestly  given  to  the  acquirement  of  education 
and  liberal  culture.  His  father's  worldly  means 
were  now  so  reduced  that  it  was  not  practicable  to 
give  the  boy  such  educational  advantages  and 
experience  of  foreign  travel  as  his  father  and 
grandfather  had  enjoyed.  But  all  advantages 
that  were  within  reach  were  fully  and  earnestly  im 
proved.  James  received  his  first  lessons  from  his 
father  and  mother,  at  home,  and  they  were  both 
eminently  well  fitted  to  lay  the  foundations  of  his 
academic  education.  Next,  for  a  time,  he  attended 
the  village  school  at  West  Brownsville.  The 
third  step  was  a  much  more  important  one  and 
probably  had  some  determining  influence  over  his 
entire  career.  At  between  ten  and  eleven  years 
of  age  he  was  sent  to  Lancaster,  Ohio,  to  live  with 
his  uncle,  Thomas  Evving,  then  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury  of  the  United  States.  He  continued 
his  studies  there  in  company  with  Mr.  Ewing's 
son,  under  the  direction  of  William  Lyons, 
an  uncle  of  that  Lord  Lyons  who  was  after 
ward  for  a  Dumber  of  years  British  Minister  at 
Washington.  Mr.  Lyons  was  a  scholar  of  fine 
attainments  and  also  a  cultured  and  experienced 
man  of  the  world,  and  was  particularly  well  fitted 
to  prepare  the  boys  for  college.  Mr.  Ewing's 
home  was,  moreover,  a  very  important  political 
headquarters,  and  a  place  of  resort  of  many  of 


CHILBHOOD  AND  STUDENT  LlfE.  35 

the  public  men  of  the  time.  Young  Elaine,  there 
fore,  gained  there  his  first  practical  knowledge  of 
politics  and  public  affairs,  and  his  mind  received 
an  impulse  in  that  direction  which  decided  the 
nature  of  his  activities  in  future  life. 

Ephrairn  L.  Elaine  became  prothonotary  of 
Washington  County,  as  already  recorded,  in  1843, 
and  went  to  live  at  Washington,  the  county  seat. 
This  town  was  also  the  seat  of  a  small  institution 
of  higher  learning  known  as  Washington  College, 
which  had  been  chartered  as  an  academy  in  1787, 
and  in  1 806  had  been  raised  to  collegiate  rank. 

o 

It  was  still  a  small  institution,  but  was  well 
equipped  in  most  respects,  having  an  excellent 
Faculty,  and  was  probably  as  good  a  college  as 
was  to  be  found  in  that  part  of  the  country.  Mr. 
Elaine  decided  to  enter  his  son  there  as  a  student, 
so  that  he  might  live  at  home  while  pursuing  his 
college  course.  This  was  done  in  the  fall  of  1843, 
James  being  then  only  thirteen  years  old.  The 
class  of  1847,  which  he  entered,  numbered  thirty- 
three  boys,  the  oldest  of  them  being  nineteen, 
and  James  G.  Elaine,  at  thirteen,  being  the 
youngest. 

The  members  of  this  class  were,  with  their 
subsequent  professions,  as  follows  :  George  Baird, 
physician  ;  Andrew  Barr,  minister  ;  James  G. 
Elaine,  statesman  ;  Robert  C.  Colmery,  minister ; 
Josiah  C.  Cooper,  physician  ;  Thomas  Creighton  ; 
George  D.  Curtis  ;  Cephas  Dodd,  physician  ; 


36  JAMES   G.  BLAINE. 

Hugh  W.  Forbes,  minister  ;  Alexander  M.  Gow, 
president  of  Dixon  College  ;  John  L.  Hampton, 
lawyer  John  C.  Hervey  ;  R.  Campbell  Holliday, 
lawyer  John  G.  Jacob,  editor  ;  Richard  H.  Lee, 
lawyer  John  V.  B.  Lemoyne,  lawyer  and  mem 
ber  of  Congress  ;  Lafayette  Markle,  lawyer  and 
editor  ;  Gasper  M.  Miller,  physician  ;  James  R. 
Moore,  principal  of  Morgantovvn  Academy ; 
William  S.  Moore,  lawyer  and  editor  ;  M.  P.  Mor 
rison,  physician ;  Robert  J.  Munce,  physician ; 
Edward  B.  Neely,  lawyer  ;  William  M.  Orr,  law 
yer;  Thomas  W.  Porter,  lawyer;  Samuel  Power; 
William  H.  H.  M.  Pusey,  lawyer  and  member  of 
Congress;  Huston  Quail,  lawyer;  John  A.  Rankin; 
Robert  Robb,  minister ;  James  H.  Smith  ;  John 
H.  Storer,  physician ;  and  Alexander  Wilson, 
lawyer. 

Young  Blaine  passed  his  entrance  examination 
creditably,  and  quickly  took  high  rank  in  his  class 
as  a  student,  while  personally  and  socially  he  was 
oire  of  the  most  popular  boys  in  college.  Dur 
ing  his  freshman  year  he  was  one  of  the  cham 
pions  of  the  class  in  resisting  the  aggressions  and 
hazing  inflicted  by  the  sophomores.  In  the  later 
years  he  was  noted  for  his  kindness  and  gener 
osity  to  the  members  of  the  successive  freshman 
classes  that  followed  him.  He  was  always  ready 
to  assist  and  to  advise  them,  to  introduce  them 
to  the  ways  of  the  college,  and  to  make  their 
lives  as  pleasant  as  possible.  Whenever  disputes 


CHILDHOOD  AND  STUDENT  LIFE.  39 

arose  between  the  members  of  his  own  or  of 
other  classes,  he  was  almost  certain  to  be  called 
upon  to  act  as  arbiter,  and  his  decision  was 
seldom  disputed.  In  athletic  sports  he  took  com 
paratively  little  part.  He  was  tall,  strong  and 
well  developed,  and  might  have  been  the  cham 
pion  of  his  class  on  the  foot-ball  field  and  else 
where,  had  he  cared  for  such  distinction.  But  he 
did  not.  Now  and  then  he  participated  in  run 
ning  matches  and  other  simple  contests.  But 
from  the  rougher  sports  of  the  athletic  field  he 
held  aloof.  Boating,  fishing  and  hunting  were 
his  favorite  diversions,  and  to  them  his  holidays 
were  largely  given. 

His  favorite  studies,  and  those  in  which  he 
most  excelled,  were  mathematics  and  logic.  He 
delighted  in  close  reasoning  and  cogent  argu 
ment.  In  mathematics  he  was  the  favorite  pupil 
of  his  teacher,  Professor  Aldrich,  and  he  easily 
excelled  all  his  classmates  in  that  important 
branch  of  learning.  In  history  and  the  other 
English  branches  he  also  ranked  near  the  head 
of  his  class,  and  in  the  classics  his  work  was  at 
least  fully  up  to  the  average.  In  general  liter 
ature  he  was  a  diligent  and  earnest  reader,  and 
he  soon  made  himself  well  acquainted  with  all 
the  standard  works  of  English  literature  con 
tained  in  the  college  library.  Every  book  and 
pamphlet  relating  to  American  history  within  his 
reach  he  read  and  re-read,  until  every  fact 


4O  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

contained  in  -it  was  indelibly  recorded  upon  his 
memory.  In  later  years,  as  we  shall  see,  this  study 
of  the  story  of  his  own  country  served  him  most 
usefully,  both  in  his  own  historical  writings,  and 
also  in  his  debates  in  Congress. 

If  incidents  of  his  childhood  are  few,  such  is 
not  the  case  with  stories  of  his  college  life.  Many 
of  his  classmates  have  told  interesting  tales  of 
his  doings  in  the  class-rooms  and  in  the  social 
•gatherings  of  the  students.  One  of  them  says 
that  he  was,  in  person,  "a  raw-boned,  angular 
fellow,  with  a  big  nose,  and  so  was  familiarly 
called  'Nosey'  Elaine."  Another  describes  him 
as  a  boy  of  pleasing  manners  and  agreeable  ad 
dress.  He  was  a  better  scholar  than  student ; 
that  is  to  say,  his  natural  quickness  of  perception 
and  power  of  memory  exceeded  his  ability  to 
apply  himself  to  his  text-book.  He  mastered  his 
lessons  far  more  quickly  and  more  readily  than 
most  of  his  fellows.  In  the  literary  society  to 
which  he  belonged  he  was  always  a  leader,  and 
he  showed  himself  there  a  natural  politician  and 
parliamentarian.  Another  of  his  classmates  re 
members  him  as  having  a  slight  impediment  of 
speech,  almost  amounting  to  stuttering.  This 
proved  a  detriment  to  him  in  declamations  and 
debates.  One  day  young  Elaine  said  to  his  class 
mate,  "Bill,  I  would  like  to  be  president  of  our 
literary  society.  Can't  you  work  it  up  for  me?" 
The  other  expressed  surprise,  saying,  "Why, 


CHILDHOOD  AND  STUDENT  LIFE.  41 

what  do  you  know  about  it?  You  have  never 
taken  any  part  in  the  debates  or  other  active 
work  of  the  society,  and  I  don't  believe  you  know 
anything  about  parliamentary  law."  "No,"  said 
Elaine,  "but  that  doesn't  matter.  I  can  commit 
Gushing' s  Manual  to  memory  in  one  evening." 
This  was  no  idle  boast.  Elaine  did  commit  every 
rule  in  the  Manual  to  memory  in  one  evening, 
so  thoroughly  as  to  be  a  complete  master  of  par 
liamentary  practice.  At  the  next  election  he  was 
chosen  president  of  the  society,  and  was  the  best 
presiding  officer  it  ever  had. 

During  his  college  life,  Elaine  lived  at  home,  in 
his  father's  family.  One  morning  he  was  sent  to 
market  to  buy  a  turkey.  It  was  early  in  the 
morning,  before  breakfast.  When  his  father  came 
to  the  breakfast  table,  the  colored  cook  greeted 
him  with,  "  Massa  Elaine,  dat  dar  turkey  what 
Massa  Jim  buyed  dis  morning  am  de  queerest 
turkey  Fs  ever  see."  "Why,  what's  the  matter 
with  it?"  asked  Mr.  Elaine.  "Isn't  it  big  enough? 
It  surely  ought  to  be,  for  Jim  paid  a  dollar  for  it." 
"Oh,  yes,  Massa  Elaine,  it  am  big  enough,  but  it 
am  de  funniest  turkey  dis  nigger  ever  see."  Mr. 
Elaine  thereupon  went  to  the  kitchen  to  see  the 
fowl,  and  found  it  to  be  a  rather  venerable  goose. 
He  forthwith  called  James  in  and  told  him  he 
ought  to  be  ashamed  of  himself  for  being  thus 
imposed  upon.  "  Fifteen  years  old,  Jim,  and  can't 
tell  a  turkey  from  a  goose  !"  "Well,"  replied  the 


42  JAMES   (7.   BLAINE. 

boy,  "I'd  like  to  know  how  you  expect  me  to  tell 
a  turkey  from  a  goose  when  its  feathers  are  off!" 

A  characteristic  class-room  incident,  showing 
his  independence  and  originality  of  thought,  is  as 
follows:  One  afternoon  in  May,  1846,  in  the 
mathematical  room,  he  went  to  the  blackboard  to 
demonstrate  a  problem.  He  drew  the  correct 
diagram  upon  the  board,  and  was  proceeding  with 
his  oral  argument,  when  Professor  Aldrich  inter 
rupted  him.  "James,"  he  said,  "you  arc  not  fol 
lowing  the  demonstration  of  the  author  at  all." 
Quick  as  a  flash  the  lad  replied,  "  What  difference 
does  that  make,  Professor  ?  If  I  can  demonstrate 
it  in  some  other  way,  just  as  positively,  isn't  it 
just  as  well  to  do  so?"  The  other  boys  laughed 
at  this,  but  the  Professor,  admiring  the  boy's 
audacity  and  unquestioned  ability,  let  him  go  on 
with  his  original  method  of  proving  the  proposition. 

In  social  circles  in  Washington,  outside  of  the 
college,  young  Blaine  was  a  great  favorite,  both 
among  young  men  and  young  women.  He  was 
always  neat  and  careful  in  his  dress  and  deport 
ment,  and  while  fond  of  fun,  was  never  guilty  of 
any  discreditable  excesses.  Nor  did  he  ever  allow 
his  love  of  social  pleasures  to  lure  him  away  from 
his  duties  as  a  student.  Accordingly,  when  he 
left  Washington,  he  left  behind  him  in  town  and 
college  such  a  reputation  for  integrity,  good 
behavior,  scholarship  and  manliness,  as  might 
have  been  envied  by  any  of  his  comrades. 


CHILDHOOD  AND  STUDENT  LIFE.  43 

The  Commencement  Day,  on  which  he  and  his 
classmates  were  graduated,  occurred  on  Septem 
ber  25,  1847.  He  was  then  seventeen  years  and 
eight  months  old.  His  scholarship  grades  placed 
him  almost  at  the  head  of  his  class,  and  he  was 
chosen  for  the  second  place  of  honor,  to  deliver 
the  English  salutatory  address  at  Commencement. 
The  members  of  the  Faculty,  who  very  gladly 
granted  him  his  diploma,  were  as  follows  :  The 
Rev.  David  McConaughty,  D.  D.,  LL.  D.,  Presi 
dent  ;  Rev.  Wm.  P.  Aldrich,  D.  D.,  Professor  of 
Mathematics  ;  Richard  H.  Lee,  Professor  of  Belles- 
Lettres ;  Rev.  David  Ferguson,  Professor  of 
Languages  ;  Rev.  Nicholas  Murray,  Professor  of 
Languages  ;  Rev.  Robert  Milligan,  Professor  of 
English  Literature  ;  John  L.  Gow,  Professor  of 
Municipal  Law;  James  King,  M.  D.,  Professor  of 
Physiology  and  Hygiene. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  programme  of 
Commencement  exercises,  with  names  of  the  class: 

ANNUAL  COMMENCEMENT 

OF 

WASHINGTON    COLLEGE,    PA. 
Wednesday,  September  29,  1847. 

GRADUATING  CLASS. 

Andrew  Barr,  John  H.  Hampton,  Edward  B.  Neely, 

George  Baird,  R.  C.  Holliday,  William  M.  Orr, 

James  G.  Elaine,  John  G.  Jacob,  Samuel  Power, 

Josiah  C.  Cooper,  Richard  H.  Lee,  William  H.  M.  Pusey, 

George  D.  Curtis,  John  V.    LeMoyne,  T.  Wilson  Porter, 

Thomas  Creighton,  LaFayette  Markle,  Huston  Quail, 

R.  C.  Colmery,  G.  H.  Miller,  Robert  Robe, 

Cephas  Dodd,  J.  R.  Moore,  J.  A.  Rankin, 

Hugh  W.  Forbes,  William  S.  Moore,  James  II.  Smith, 

Alexander  M.  Gow,  Robert  J.  Munce,  John  H.  Storer, 

John  C.  Hervey,  M.  P.  Morrison,"  Alexander  Wilson. 


44  JAMES   G.  BLAINE. 

MATRI  ALMA*.  SIM  US  HONOR!. 

ORDER  OF  EXERCISES. 

MUSIC— PRAYER— MUSIC. 

1st.  LATIN  SALUTATORY John  C.  Hervey,  Brooke  Co.,  Va. 

MUSIC. 

2d.   ENGLISH  SALUTATORY  AND  ORATION, James  G.  Blaine, 

West  Brownville,  Pa. 
MUSIC. 

3d.    GREEK  SALUTATORY,   < T.  W.  Porter,  Fayette  Co.,  Pa. 

MUSIC. 

4th.  ORATION — The  Sword  and  the  Plough,    J.  G.  Jacob,  WellsLurgh,  Va. 

MUSIC. 

5th.  ORATION— Byron, Huston  Quail,  Union  Valley,  Pa. 

MUSIC. 

6th.  ORATION — The  Era  of  Napoleon,.  LaFayette  Markle,  Mill  Grove,  Pa. 

MUSIC. 

7th.  A  POEM — The  Collegian, G.  D.  Curtis,  Grove  Creek,  Va. 

MUSIC. 

8th.  ORATION — Moral  Warfare, J.  R.  Moore,  Wellsville,  O. 

MUSIC. 
9th.  ORATION — Poverty  Useful  in  the  Development  of  Genius, 

R.  C.  Colmery,  Hayesville,  O. 
MUSIC. 

loth.ORATioN — The  American  Boy, .  E.  B.  Neely,  Washington  City,  D.  C. 
MUSIC— CONFERRING  OF  DEGREES— MUSIC. 

Hth.VALEDiCTORY  . William  M.  Orr,  Wayne  Co.,  O. 

MUSIC. 
BENEDICTION. 

The  topic  of  James  G.  Elaine's  oration  was  not 
announced  on  the  printed  programme.  It  was 
'The  Duty  of  an  Educated  American."  This,  too, 
is  significant.  It  showed  the  trend  of  his  thoughts 
and  purposes,  and  was  in  a  marked  measure  pro 
phetic  of  the  life  work  upon  which  he  was  about 
to  enter. 


CHAPTER  III. 

THE     TEACHER. 

Plans  for  a  Life  of  Teaching — His  First  Engagement  in  Kentucky — An 
Entire  Change  of  Environment — Difficulties  of  his  Position — Leader 
in  a  Free  Fight — His  Courtship  and  Marriage — His  Contact  with 
Slavery  and  his  Views  Thereof — Development  of  a  strong  Anti- 
Slavery  Sentiment — His  Return  to  the  North — Studying  Law  and 
Teaching  the  Blind — His  First  Book — Removal  to  the  Pine  Tree 
State. 

A  great  number  of  young-  men  in  this  country, 
every  year,  immediately  after  leaving  college,  seek 
employment  as  school-teachers.  Such  a  record 
appears  in  the  biography  of  almost  every  public 
man  of  high  rank.  It  is  related  of  many  Presi 
dents,  Senators  and  Supreme  Court  Judges. 
With  some,  the  intention  is  to  make  teaching  a 
permanent  profession.  But  the  majority  enter 
upon  it  merely  as  a  temporary  makeshift,  as  a 
means  of  support  for  a  year  or  two,  until  they 
can  "settle  down  "  in  the  profession  or  business 
chosen  as  their  life-work.  It  is  not  surprising  that 
so  many  young  men  fresh  from  the  class  room 
seek  themselves  to  be  instructors  in  other  class 
rooms.  The  very  experience  of  their  own 
school  life,  so  fresh  in  mind,  gives  them  an  espe 
cial  familiarity  with  the  technical  details  of  teach 
ing.  Perhaps,  too,  the  sense  of  freedom  and 
45 


46  JAMES   G.  ELAINE. 

relief  at  their  emancipation  from  the  authority  of 
their  own  instructors  inspires  them,  as  a  sort  of 
poetic  vengeance,  to  seek  to  exert  their  authority 
in  turn  over  other  students.  In  the  case  of  those 
who  really  intend  to  pursue  teaching  as  their  life- 
work,  it  is  probably  advantageous  to  enter  upon  it 
immediately  afier  their  own  graduation.  In  the 
other  case,  where  teaching  is  a  mere  makeshift  or 
stepping-stone,  the  wisdom  of  the  entire  proced 
ure  is  gravely  to  be  doubted.  The  profession  is 
fraught  with  responsibilities  too  serious  and  duties 
too  arduous  to  be  undertaken  lightly  or  without 
that  devotion  that  alone  can  exist  where  the  work 
undertaken  is  of  a  permanent  nature.  He  who 
is  a  teacher  merely  for  a  year  or  two,  until  he  can 
get  anto  some  better  position,  is  apt  to  be  a  per 
functory  time-server,  careless  of  the  best  interests 
of  his  school. 

When  James  G.  Elaine  left  Washington  College 
he  too  became  a  school-teacher.  It  was  necessary 
for  him  to  enter  some  profitable  employment  at 
once.  His  father's  fortunes  had  been  steadily  de 
clining,  and  the  young  man  now  found  himself 
practically  set  adrift  in  the  world,  with  no  money 
or  other  financial  resources,  and  only  a  sound 
mind  in  a  sound  body  and  a  well-developed  char 
acter  with  which  to  make  his  way.  It  is  said,  ap 
parently  on  credible  authority,  that  he  had  formed 
a  resolution  to  devote  his  life  to  the  work  of 
teaching.  If  such  be  the  case,  he  probably  formed 


THE  TEACHER.  47 

that  resolution  under  the  stress  of  some  momen 
tary  impulse.  It  could  scarcely  have  been  the  re 
sult  of  deliberate  and  matured  consideration. 
True,  he  was  physically  and  mentally  well 
equipped  for  the  work.  But  the  whole  trend  of 
his  ambitious  and  masterful  disposition  was  in  the 
direction  of  some  more%  extended  field  of  action. 
There  might  be  before  him  no  career  more  credit 
able  or  more  beneficent,  in  its  own  compass.  The 
work  of  the  true  and  conscientious  teacher  is  not 
to  be  despised  by  even  the  greatest  genius.  But 
beside  the  equipment  of  a  teacher,  Mr.  Blaine 
possessed  other  resources  that  fitted  him  for  more 
effective  work  in  another  sphere  ;  and  of  this  fact 
he  could  scarcely,  even  at  that  early  age,  have 
been  unconscious. 

It  is  safe  to  assume,  then,  that  he  was  led  to  the 
school-teacher's  desk  partly  by  the  necessity  of 
earning  his  own  living,  partly  by  some  half-com 
prehended  impulse  that  made  him  think  for  the  mo 
ment  that  that  was  his  mission  in  life,  and  perhaps 
in  still  greater  measure  by  some  utterly  unrecog 
nized  and  indefinable  influence,  which  men  may 
call  destiiiy  or  fate  or  chance,  which  in  an  inscru 
table  manner  plays  an  overruling  part  in  almost 
every  life,  and  which  in  this  case,  altogether  unex 
pectedly  and  beyond  the  ken  of  prophecy,  led 
young  Blaine  straight  into  circumstances  that  un 
alterably  moulded  and  fixed  the  whole  cast  of  his 
life. 


48  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

Only  a  few  weeks  elapsed  between  the  ending 
of  his  life  as  a  student  and  the  beginning  of 
of  his  life  as  a  teacher.  He  was  graduated  in  the 
latter  part  of  September.  "In  October,"  he  says, 
"  I  went  to  Kentucky."  Why  he  went  thither  is 
unknown.  It  may  have  been  merely  for  the 
reason  that  Kentucky  was  a  younger  common 
wealth  than  Pennsylvania,  and  that  therefore  there 
seemed  to  him  better  opportunities  of  making  his 
way  there.  Certainly  he  found  social  conditions 
very  different  from  those  of  his  old  home.  He 
went  from  a  free  State  into  a  slave  State  ;  from  a 
quiet,  peaceable  community  into  one  where  a 
more  restless,  aggressive  and  at  times  turbulent, 
spirit  prevailed.  This  very  fact  was  of  great  ad 
vantage  to  him,  for  it  cultivated  and  developed 
his  spirit  of  authority  and  his  gift  of  leadership. 
He  was  brought  into  contact  with  people  of  aristo 
cratic  impulses,  having  an  utter  disdain  of  all 
restriction.  For  him  to  establish  and  maintain 
authority  among  them  and  over  them  would  be 
no  mean  task.  If  he  should  succeed  in  it,  he 
would  have  proven  his  right  to  be  reckoned  as  a 
leader  of  men  wherever  he  might  go.  • 

The  institution  in  which  he  became  a  teacher, 
or  professor,  as  he  was  called,  was  a  military 
school  at  Blue  Lick  Springs,  Kentucky.  It  con 
tained  about  five  hundred  young  men  and  boys. 
They  were,  nearly  all  of  them,  the  sons  of 
wealthy  slaveholders  and  planters,  imbued  with 


THE  TEACHER.  49 

the  characteristic  spirit  of  the  Southern  aris 
tocracy.  A  more  difficult  body  to  govern,  and 
especially  for  a  stranger  from  a  Northern  State  to 
govern,  it  would  have  been  difficult  to  find.  It 
was  especially  trying  for  Mr.  Elaine,  because  he 
was  yet  barely  eighteen  years  old,  no  older  than 
many  of  the  lads  who  were  to  be  under  his 
authority.  But  he  addressed  himself  to  the  task 
most  tactfully.  He  did  not  allow  his  authority  to 
be  for  a  moment  questioned.  His  commands 
must  be  obeyed  with  military  promptness  and 
precision.  At  the  same  time  he  entered  as  fully 
as  possible  into  sympathy  with  the  boys.  Within 
a  few  days  after  his  arrival  at  the  institute  he  had 
fixed  in  his  marvellous  memory  the  name  of  every 
one  of  the  five  hundred.  He  could  not  only  call 
any  one  of  them  by  his  given  name,  but  he 
knew  where  his  home  was,  and  something  about 
his  family,  and  was  able  to  sympathize  with  his 
tastes  and  feelings  and  to  enter  heartily  into  his 
ambitions.  Thus  he  made  all  the  students  feel 
that  he  was  not  only  their  teacher  and  master, 
but  their  friend  and  comrade  as  well.  Under 
these  circumstances  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  he  quickly  became  the  most  popular  member 
of  the  Faculty. 

A  few  months  after  his  arrival  there,  an  inci 
dent  occurred  which  greatly  tried  his  temper  and 
which  also  indisputably  established  his  reputation 
for  coolness  and  personal  courage.  A  question 


5o  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

arose   concerning  the  removal  of  the   school    to 

o 

another  place,  and  a  bitter  dispute  resulted  be 
tween  the  Faculty  of  the  school  on  the  one  hand 
and  the  property  owners  of  the  neighborhood  on 
the  other.  In  those  days  of  so-called  "chivalry," 
a  resort  to  physical  violence  was  apt  to  be  made 
for  the  settlement  of  any  seriously  disputed 
matter,  and  this  was  done  in  the  present  instance. 
There  was  a  desperate  melee,  in  which  all  the 
members  of  the  Faculty  participated  and  in  which 
knives  and  pistols  were  freely  used.  Professor 
Elaine  had  earnestly  striven  to  effect  a  peaceful 
settlement  of  the  controversy  and  to  avoid  a  con 
flict.  When  the  fight  actually  began,  he  tried  his 
utmost  to  restrain  the  combatants.  But  seeing 
that  these  well-meant  efforts-  were  fruitless,  he 
joined  his  fellow-members  of  the  Faculty  and 
went  in  to  fight  hard  and  to  the  bitter  end.  He 
used  no  weapons  but  his  fists,  but  he  employed 
these  with  such  effect  that  he  was  easily  the  leader 
of  his  party,  and  it  was  chiefly  owing  to  his 
prowess  that  the  Faculty  came  out  of  the  struggle 
victorious.  The  prestige  which  he  thus,  although 
reluctantly,  acquired,  established  for  him  a  domi 
nant  authority  at  the  school  which  was  never 
thereafter  called  into  question. 

After  about  three  years  of  service  at  Blue  Lick 
Springs,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  fall  of  1850,  the 
young  professor  came  to  the  conclusion  that 
teaching  was  not  the  vocation  in  which  he  would 


THE   TEACHER.  51 

realize  the  highest  destiny  of  his  life.  He  had 
given  to  the  work  his  most  earnest  attention  and 
fullest  devotion.  But  the  duties  were  irksome  to 
him,  and  the  petty  trials  and  details  of  the  daily 
routine  were  vexing  to  a  man  of  his  high  spirit 
and  broad  views.  Moreover,  he  was  entirely  out 
of  sympathy  with  the  social  system  by  which  he 
was  surrounded  in  Kentucky.  While  he  avoided 
coming  into  direct  conflict  with  it,  he  disliked  it 
more  and  more  each  day,  and  each  day  it  became 
harder  for  him  to  conceal  that  dislike.  He  there 
fore  determined  to  return  to  his  native  State. 
But  before  doing  so  an  event  occurred  which  was 
one  of  the  most  important  in  his  whole  career. 
This  was  his  marriage. 

The  president  of  the  institute  at  Blue  Lick 
Springs  \vas  Colonel  Thornton  F.  Johnson,  whose 
wife  was  also  an  enthusiastic  educator.  Mrs. 
Johnson  conducted  at  Millersburg,  some  miles 
away,  a  school  for  girls.  Professor  Blaine  fre 
quently  visited  this  school  and  there  became 
acquainted  with  one  of  its  teachers,  by  name 
Harriet  Stanwood.  An  intimacy  soon  sprang  up 
between  them.  Mr.  Elaine's  visits  to  Millersburg 
became  more  and  more  frequent,  and  at  about  the 
time  when  he  determined  to  return  to  the  North, 
they  became  engaged.  It  is  not  improbable,  in 
deed,  that  Miss  Stanwood  had  much  to  do  with 
the  forming  of  his  resolution  to  leave  Kentucky. 
She  herself  belonged  to  the  North,  her  former 


52  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

home  having-  been  at  Augusta,  Maine.  At  any 
rate,  they  agreed  to  return  to  the  North  together, 
and  early  in  1851,  just  before  Mr.  Elaine  resigned 
his  post  at  Blue  Lick  Springs  and  left  Kentucky, 
they  were  married. 

Another  circumstance  of  Mr.  Elaine's  life  in 
Kentucky  that  had  a  lasting  influence  upon  his 
career  was  his  personal  observation  of  and  contact 
with  the  institution  of  human  slavery.  He  had 
probably  grown  up  through  childhood  and  youth 
with  feelings  of  comparative  indifference  if  not  of 
tolerance  toward  it.  He  had  known  nothing  of  it 
save  by  hearsay,  and  there  is  no  indication  that 
his  family  or  friends  impressed  upon  him  any  very 
aggressive  anti-slavery  opinions.  His  father  was 
undoubtedly  an  anti-slavery  man.  But  it  is  not 
known  that  he  was  conspicuously  identified  with 
that  cause  or  that  he  took  more  than  a  passive 
interest  in  it.  Mr.  Elaine  has  truly  said  that  he 
imbibed  anti-slavery  opinions  from  his  earliest 
youth.  Pennsylvania  was,  of  course,  a  free  State. 
But  it  lay  close"  to  the  slave  States  and  its  social 
and  business  relations  with  them  were  most  in 
timate.  The  Cumberland  Valley,  in  which  was 
situated  Carlisle,  the  old  home  of  the  Blaines,  was 
strongly  imbued  with  southern  sentiment ;  and  it 
was  a  member  of  Congress  from  the  western  part 
of  the  State,  Judge  Thompson,  of  Erie,  who 
moved  the  final  adoption  of  the  Fugitive  Slave 
bill.  So  while  young  Elaine  grew  up  a  lover  of 


THE   TEACHER.  53 

freedom  and  a  disbeliever  in  slavery,  he  was  con 
stantly  surrounded  more  or  less  by  upholders  and 
apologists  of  that  institution.  And  as  he  and  his 
family  did  not  engage  in  open  controversy  on  the 
subject,  they  probably  regarded  it  with  a  certain 
degree  of  toleration.  At  any  rate,  his  attitude 
toward  it,  down  to  the  time  of  his  residence  in 
Kentucky,  was  one  of  passive  rather  than  active 
hostility. 

Kentucky  was,  of  all  the  slave  States,  that  in 
which  the  condition  of  the  negroes  was  most 
tolerable,  and  in  which  the  institution  of  slavery 
assumed  its  least  offensive  form.  What  Mr. 
Elaine  saw  and  heard,  however,  was  enough. 
His  manhood  revolted  against  it.  The  anti- 
slavery  sentiments  of  his  childhood  and  youth 
were  now,  in  his  early  manhood,  quickened  into 
new  and  active  life.  And  before  he  left  Kentucky 
he  was  possessed  of  an  ardent  and  unquenchable 
hatred  of  slavery,  and  a  fixed  purpose  both  to 
oppose  its  further  extension  and  to  labor  for  its 
total  abolition.  A  few  years  afterward  he  had 
occasion  to  refer  to  this  incident  in  his  life,  in  lan 
guage  which  may  well  be  quoted  here.  It  was  after 
he  had  settled  in  the  State  of  Maine  and  was 
editing  a  newspaper  there.  In  his  writings  he 
was  outspoken  in  the  cause  of  freedom.  A  rival 
sheet  took  him  to  task,  therefore,  on  the  ground 
that,  having  lived  in  the  South  and  enjoyed  its 
hospitality,  he  should  not  speak  against  its 


54  JAMES  G.  BLATNE. 

institutions.     To  this   queer    attack    the    young 
editor  made  the  following  vigorous  reply  : 

"We  find  the  following  precious    morceau  in 
The  Age  of  Saturday  last : 

" « One  of  the  editors  of  the  new  Morrill  organ  in  this  city  has  too  re 
cently  partaken  of  the  "  slaveholder's  salt,"  and  reposed  beneath  the 
shadow  of  the  "peculiar  institution,"  to  authorize  him  to  lecture  contem 
poraries  on  their  duty  to  the  cause  of  "  freedom."  We  would  recommend 
to  his  consideration  Shakespeare's  advice  to  new  beginners  in  the  art 
theatrical.' 

"We — the  editor  referred  to  in  this  would-be 
severe  paragraph — have  to  plead  guilty  to  a  res 
idence  of  four  years,  prior  to  and  including  1850, 
in  the  State  of  Kentucky.  We  were  engaged  in 
what  we  still  consider  the  honorable  capacity  of 
a  teacher  in  a  literary  institution,  then  and  now 
in  deservedly  high  standing  with  the  several 
States,  both  North  and  South,  which  patronize 
and  sustain  it.  Invited  to  take  the  position  for  a 
certain  pecuniary  consideration,  which  we  regu 
larly  received,  and  having  to  the  best  of  our 
ability  and  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  concerned  dis 
charged  our  duties,  we  have  been  under  the  im 
pression  that  the  matter  was  closed  and  nothing 
due  from  either  party  to  the  other  in  the  way  of 
personal  obligation  or  political  fealty.  The  Age, 
however,  seems  to  think  that,  having  partaken  of 
the  '  slaveholder's  salt'  (for  which  we  paid),  we 
should  be  dumb  to  the  slaveholder's  wrong-doing. 
So  conscious  are  they  of  the  potency  of  a  little 
'administration  salt'  in  shutting  their  own  mouths 


THE    TEACHER.  57 

and  stifling  their  real  sentiments  on  the  slavery 
question  that  they  cannot  conceive  of  any  one 
taking  a  more  independent  or  more  manly  course. 

"We  beg  leave  further  to  say  (since  we  are  re 
luctantly  forced  into  this  allusion  to  self)  that  the 
anti-slavery  sentiments  which,  from  our  earliest 
youth,  we  imbibed  in  our  native  Pennsylvania — 
the  first  of  the  '  old  thirteen  '  to  abolish  slavery — 
were  deepened  and  strengthened  by  a  residence 
among  slaveholders,  and  that  nowhere,  either  on 
slave  soil  or  on  free  soil,  have  we  expressed  other 
feelings  than  those  of  decided  hostility  to  the  ex 
tension  of  the  withering  curse. 

"  Our  residence  in  the  South  gave  us,  we  hope, 
the  advantage  of  a  thorough  comprehension  of 
the  question  of  slavery  in  all  its  aspects,  and  of 
the  views  of  the  men  who  sustain  it.  It  taught 
us,  amon^  other  things,  that  slaveholders,  whilst 

C>  O      ' 

wholly  unreasonable  and  even  perfidious  in  their 
aggressions  upon  freedom,  have  yet  the  magna 
nimity  to  depise  a  Northern  traitor  ;  and  that  all 
organists  and  apologists  of  dough-fa  eery,  after 
earning  the  contempt  of  freemen  at  home,  have 
only  for  consolation  the  kicks  and  cuffs  of  their 
Southern  masters. 

"  But  we  forbear  ;  the  opinion  now  current 
is  that  our  neighbors  of  The  Age,  in  consenting 
to  preach  acquiescence  under  the  'crushing  out' 
process  of  Pierce  and  dishing,  went  it  dirt  cheap, 
and  have  even  failed  to  receive  the  whole  of  the 


58  JAMES   G.   BLATNE. 

stipulated  compensation.  Under  this  belief  the 
derision  which  they  so  richly  merited,  and  at  first 
,so  bountifully  received,  is  rapidly  subsiding  and 
giving  place  to  a  feeling  of  pity  ;  in  this,  we  trust, 
we  have  the  generosity  to  share,  and  cannot, 
therefore,  find  it  in  our  heart  to  add  a  single  taunt 
or  unkind  remark." 

If  was  in  the  spring  of  1851  that  Mr.  Elaine 
and  his  bride  turned  their  faces  toward  the  North. 
His  inteKtion  now  was  to  study  and  engage  in  the 
practice  of  the  law.  He  accordingly  returned  to 
his  old  home  in  Washington  County  and  for  a 
time  read  law  in  the  office  of  his  father.  In  the 
summer  of  1852,  however,  he  removed  to  Phila 
delphia  to  complete  his  law  course  under  the 
guidance  of  Theodore  Cuyler,  Esq.  In  order  to 
maintain  'himself  and  his  family  while  he  was 
finishing  his  law  studies,  fee  determined  to  con 
tinue  work  as  a  teacher.  Soon  after  his  arrival  in 
Philadelphia  he  learned  that  a  new  teacher  was 
required  in  the  boys'  department  of  the  Pennsyl 
vania  Institution  for  the  Instruction  of  the  Blind. 
Accordingly,  he  went  thither  one  afternoon  at  the 
beginning  of  August  and  made  application  for* the 
place.  There  were  thirty  or  forty  other  appli 
cants  at  the  same  time,  and  he  had  no  letters  of 
introduction  and  no  influential  friends  to  aid  him. 
His  appearance  and  manner,  however,  so  favora 
bly  impressed  the  authorities  that  he  was  immedi 
ately  engaged  to  be  the  principal  teacher  of  the 


THE    TEACHER.  59 

boys.  He  brought  his  young  wife  and  their 
infant  son,  Walker,  thither,  and  for  two  years 
they  made  their  home  in  Philadelphia.  The  insti 
tution  was  situated  at  the  corner  of  Race  and 
Twentieth  streets,  and  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Elaine 
devoted  themselves  earnestly  to  the  welfare  of  its 
inmates.  He  was  a  teacher  of  mathematics  and 
other  branches,  and  Mrs.  Elaine  assisted  him  and 
often  read  aloud  to  the  pupils.  She  thus  read  to 
them  nearly  all  of  the  works  of  Dickens. 

There  is  still  to  be  seen  in  the  office  of  this  in 
stitution  a  most  interesting  memorial  of  Mr. 
Elaine's  work  there.  It  is  his  first  important 
literary  production,  a  thick  quarto  manuscript 
volume,  bound  in  dark  brown  leather  and  lettered 
"  Journal."  The  title-page  bears  the  following 
inscription  in  ornamental  penmanship,  executed 
by  William  Chapin,  the  principal  of  the  institution  : 

JOURNAL 

of  the 
PENNSYLVANIA  INSTITUTION 

for  the 

INSTRUCTION  OF   THE  BLIND, 
from    its    foundation. 


Compiled  from  official  records 

by 

JAMES  G.  ELAINE, 
1854. 


60  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

Mr.  Elaine  prepared  this  work  with  great  labor 
from  the  minute  book  of  the  Board  of  Managers, 
giving  in  it  a  historical  account  of  the  institution 
from  the  date  of  its  foundation  to  that  of  his 
departure  from  it.  It  is  remarkable  for  the  care 
ful  method  of  its  arrangement.  At  the  beginning 
is  a  table  giving  explanatians  of  all  abbreviations 
used  in  it.  Then  come  some  "  Notes  in  Regard 
to  the  Origin  of  the  Pennsylvania  Institution  for 
the  Instruction  of  the  Blind."  There  follow  188 
pages  of  records,  all  entered  by  Mr.  Blaine  with 
the  utmost  neatness  and  accuracy.  At  the 
end  of  each  year's  record  is  an  elaborate  table, 
summarizing  the  statistics  given  in  the  preceding 
pages.  There  are  also  alphabetical  lists  of  offi 
cers  of  the  institution,  and  the  thirteenth  name 
among  those  of  the  "principal  teachers"  is  that 
of  James  G.  Blaine,  in  his  own  writing,  with  the 

.date  "from  August  5,  1852,  to ."  The 

record  is  completed  with  the  date  written  by 
another  hand,  "  September  23,  1854." 

Mr.  Chapin,  the  principal  who  accepted  Mr. 
Blaine's  application  and  who  was  associated  with 
him  during  his  two  years  of  service,  says  that 
while  a  large  number  of  persons  answered  his 
advertisement  for  a  teacher,  he  had  no  hesitation 
whatever  in  selecting  Mr.  Blaine,  so  favorably 
was  he  impressed  by  his  manly  presence  and 
intellectual  features.  He  was  not  disappointed 
in  his  choice.  Mr.  Blaine  had  to  teach  his  pupils 


THE   TEACHER,  6 1 

chiefly  by  the  oral  method,  and  for  this  difficult 
work  his  brilliant  mental  powers  were  exactly 
suited.  He  was  a  good  talker  ;  he  was  fluent, 
and  his  choice  of  words  was  admirable.  His 
memory  of  facts  and  figures  and  persons  was  ex 
traordinary.  He  was  young  and  impulsive,  and 
was  apt  to  jump  at  conclusions,  but  his  conclu 
sions  were  usually  correct  and  he  was  always 
ready  to  defend  them  by  argument. 

One  of  those  who  were  pupils  under  Mr.  Elaine 
says  that  they  all  had  a  sincere  and  hearty  affec 
tion  for  him  and  for  his  wife.  "  They  were  both 
always  ready  to  do  anything  for  our  instruction 
or  entertainment,  and  they  thus  employed  a  great 
deal  of  their  leisure  time  upon  which  he  had  really 
no  claim.  Mrs.  Blaine  used  to  read  Dickens  to 
us,  and  Mr.  Blaine  often  read  from  a  most  amus 
ing  work  entitled  'Charcoal  Sketches.'  Now  and 
then  we  would  have  a  spelling  bee.  Usually  Mr. 
Blaine  gave  out  the  words  that  were  to  be  spelled. 
But  sometimes  he  would  let  one  of  the  older  boys 
do  that  and  would  himself  take  a  place  among  the 
pupils.  Then  we  would  have  great  fun  in  trying 
to  spell  him  down." 

Mr.  Blaine  completed  his  law  studies  in  Phila 
delphia,  but  did  not  enter  upon  the  practice  of 
that  profession.  Nor  did  he  tarry  long  in  that 
city.  He  thought  he  saw  in  the  vast  field  of 
journalism  ample  scope  for  the  exercise  of  his 
abilities,  and  especially  for  that  leadership  of 


62  JAMES  G.  ULAINZ. 

thought  which  was  an  essential  and  dominant  note 
of  his  character.  Mrs.  Blaine,  moreover,  had  a 
strong  desire  to  return  to  her  old  home  in  the 
Pine  Tree  State.  Accordingly,  in  the  summer  of 
1854,  to  the  great  regret  of  all  the  students  and 
of  his  associates  in  the  Faculty,  he  resigned  his 
place  in  the  Institution  for  the  Blind  and  turned 
his  face  aeain  toward  the  North  and  East.  He 

o 

went  with  his  wife  and  child  to  the  beautiful  city 
of  Augusta,  on  the  Kennebec  river,  there  to  make 
their  permanent  home.  Thenceforth  his  fame 
was  identified  with  that  commonwealth,  and  he 
was  known  as  "  Blaine  of  Maine." 


CHAPTER  IV. 

THE    EDITOR. 

Political  Condition  of  the  Country — The  Slavery  Question  Dominant — Mr. 
Elaine's  Removal  to  Augusta  and  Editorship  There — Samples  of  His 
Vigorous  Writing — His  Share  in  the  Organization  of  the  Republican 
Party — A  Delegate  to  Its  First  National  Convention — His  First  Stump 
Speech — Advocacy  of  the  Principles  of  the  New  Party — Removal  to 
Portland — Three  Years  of  Service  in  the  Maine  Legislature. 

Mr.  Elaine  entered  upon  his  political  career,  as 
a  journalist,  at  a  singularly  important  period  in 
the  history  of  the  United  States.  The  ''impend 
ing  crisis,"  which  had  been  impending  since  the 
government  was  founded,  was  evidently  near  at 
hand.  Webster,  Clay,  Benton,  Calhoun,  Doug 
las,  Seward,  Sumner,  Davis  and  their  compeers 
were  the  men  of  the  hour  at  Washington,  the 
leaders  of  the  two  great  parties.  The  Mexican 
War  had  just  been  fought,  for  the  benefit  of  the 
slaveholding  South.  The  discovery  of  gold  in 
California  had  led  to  the  swift  establishment  of  a 
mighty  commonwealth  on  the  Pacific  coast.  Other 
territories  and  States  were  beinor  organized  in  the 

o          o 

West,  and  the  question  of  the  day  was  whether 
they  should  be  slave  or  free.  The  settlement  of 
th;s  question  also  involved  the  question  of  the 
perpetuity  of  slavery  itself,  and  the  continued 
dominance  of  slave-state  influence  at  Washington. 
63 


64  JAMES  o. 

If  the  new  States  were  free,  the  slave  power  would 
soon  be  in  a  hopeless  minority  in  Congress  and 
in  the  Electoral  College.  The  legislation  of  the 
Nation  would  no  longer  be  in  the  interest  of 
slavery.  The  Fugitive  Slave  law  would  be  re 
pealed.  And  the  "  peculiar  institution  "  wrould  be 
doomed. 

There  were  still  those  who  looked  for  a  peace 
ful  solution  of  the  problem,  and  they  sought  that 
end  by  compromises  which  settled  nothing  and 
scarcely  postponed  the  crisis.  Others  foresaw 
clearly  that  an  appeal  would  at  last  be  made  to 
arms.  One  thing  was  evident  to  all,  that  a  con 
siderable  reorganization  of  parties,  largely  on 
sectional  lines,  must  soon  be  effected.  Indeed,  it 
was  already  in  progress.  New  leaders  were  com 
ing  forward,  new  rallying  cries  were  heard. 
Should  slavery  be  extended  or  restricted,  was  the 
immediate  question.  Should  slavery  continue  to 
exist,  was  heard  in  its  echo  ;  and  beyond  that, 
should  the  States  or  the  Nation  be  sovereign. 

Already  there  had  been  scenes  of  violence  in 
many  places.  Arthur  Tappan  had  been  mobbed 
in  New  York,  Prudence  Crandall  in  Connecticut, 
William  Lloyd  Qarrison  in  Boston,  and  Orange 
Scott  at  Worcester,  for  daring  to  speak  against 
the  crime  of  slavery.  Scores  of  other  estimable 
men  and  women  in  many  places  had  met  with 
similar  ill-treatment.  Owen  Lovejoy  had  been 
murdered  in  Illinois,  and  his  assassins  acquitted. 


THE  EDITOR.  6$ 

Samuel  Hoar  had  been  expelled  from  South 
Carolina.  By  these  and  other  means  the  slave 
power  gave  it  to  be  understood  that  it  would 
resent  and  resist  with  physical  force  any  at 
tempt  even  to  criticise  its  conduct.  These 
things  occurred  in  Mr.  Elaine's  childhood.  While 
he  was  a  student,  Texas  was  annexed,  the  Mexican 
War  was  fought,  and  the  Wilmot  Proviso  was 
enacted. 

While  he  was  a  teacher  in  Kentucky,  the  Free 
Soil  party  came  into  prominence  ;  Zachary  Taylor 
was  elected  President  by  the  Whigs  on  a  non 
committal  platform  ;  the  struggle  over  the  ques 
tion  of  slavery  in  the  Pacific  Coast  territories  was 
ended,  for  the  time,  at  least,  by  Mr.  Clay's  cele 
brated  compromise  measure  of  1850  ;  and  the  in 
famous  Fugitive  Slave  law  was  put  upon  the 
statute  book.  This  latter  act  became  a  law  on 
September  18,  1850,  and  immediately  a  National 
campaign  of  slave  hunting  was  organized.  In 
Pennsylvania  slave  hunts  were  especially  numer 
ous,  owing  to  the  proximity  of  that  State  to  the 
slave  region,  and  they  were  conducted  with  almost 
incredible  brutality.  Kentucky,  too,  witnessed 
many  dreadful  scenes,  of  hunting,  torture  and 
murder  of  negroes  who  were  trying  to  escape 
from  bondage.  These  things  came  directly  under 
Mr.  Elaine's  observation,  and  filled  his  mind  with 
wrath  and  with  a  stern  determination  to  make  his 
life-work  tell  for  freedom. 


66  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

During  his  life  in  Philadelphia,  the  young  profes 
sor  witnessed  the  triumph  of  the  pro-slavery  De 
mocracy  in  the  National  election  of  1852,  and  the 
commencement  of  the  dreadful  struggle  in  Kan 
sas.  Three  of  the  chief  party  leaders,  Clay, 
Webster  and  Calhoun,  had  died,  and  others  were 
coming  forward  to  take  their  places.  The  Whig 
party  was  on  the  verge  of  dissolution,  and  the 
Republican  party  was  rising  into  importance. 
Congress,  by  its  conduct  over  the  Kansas-Ne 
braska  bill,  had  practically  invited  a  physical  con 
flict  in  those  territories.  The  invitation  was  ac 
cepted.  New  England  colonists  flocked  thither, 
as  permanent  settlers,  determined  to  keep  Kan 
sas  free,  by  force  of  arms  if  need  be  ;  and  Mis 
souri  "border  ruffians"  also  went  thither,  equally 
determined,  by  force  of  arms,  to  impose  slavery 
upon  the  young  Commonwealth.  This  bloody  con 
flict  was  just  fairly  begun  when,  in  1854,  Mr. 
Blaine  removed  from  Philadelphia  to  Augusta, 
and,  becoming  one  of  the  editors  of  The  Kennebec 

o 

Journal,  began   to  exert  upon   public   affairs  the 
influence  of  his  brain  and  pen. 

The  State  of  Maine  was  at  that  time  a  more 
important  member  of  the  Union  than  it  is  at  the 
present  time  ;  not  that  it  has  declined,  but  that 
other  portions  of  the  country  have  so  greatly  in 
creased  in  population  and  influence.  Its  news 
papers  ranked  high  as  exponents  of  political  prin 
ciples  and  leaders  of  public  thought.  And  among 


THE  EDITOR.  67 

them  The  Kennebec  Journal  occupied  a  prominent 
position.  It  was,  indeed,  the  most  important  paper 
in  that  part  of  the  State.  William  H.  Wheeler  and 
William  H.  Simpson  were  its  owners,  the  former 
being  also  its  chief  editor.  In  the  fall  of  1854, 
Mr.  Wheeler  retired,  selling  his  interest  to  his 
partner,  and  almost  immediately  afterward,  Mr. 
Simpson  disposed  of  the  entire  property  to  Joseph 
Baker  and  James  G.  Elaine.  Mr.  Elaine  w^as  as 
sisted  in  the  operation  by  his  wife's  brother,  Jacob 
Stanwood,  of  Augusta.  The  new  firm  took  pos 
session  of  the  paper  on  November  10,  1854, 
and  made  the  following  editorial  announcement 
of  their  purposes  : 

"Politically,  The  Journal  will  pursue  the  same 
course  it  has  marked  out  for  the  last  two  months. 
We  shall  cordially  support  the  Morrill  or  Repub 
lican  party,  the  substantial  principles  of  which 
are,  as  we  understand  them  :  freedom,  temper 
ance,  river  and  harbor  improvement  within  Con 
stitutional  limits,  homesteads  for  freemen,  and  a 
just  administration  of  the  public  lands  of  the 
State  and  Nation.  We  shall  advocate  the  cause 
of  popular  education  as  the  surest  safeguard  of  our 
Republican  institutions,  and  especially  the  com 
mon  schools  of  the  State  and  city,  *  We 
shall  devote  a  department  of  our  paper  each 
v;eek  to  religious  intelligence  of  all  kinds,  and 
desire  that  our  friends  of  all  denominations  will 
consider  themselves  invited  freely  to  communicate 


68  JAMES  G.  8LAINE. 

anything  in  this  department  which  they  wish  to  have 
made  public,  particularly  notices  of  religious  con 
ventions,  ordinations  and  meetings  of  such  kind." 

This  editorial  was  doubtless  from  the  pen  of 
Mr.  Elaine,  who  became  the  principal  leader-writer 
of  The  Journal.  His  articles  were,  in  matter  and 
in  style,  entirely  characteristic.  They  were 
marked  by  the  utmost  clearness  and  directness  of 
statement,  by  cogent  and  convincing  logic,  and 
by  great  earnestness  and  courage.  He  never 
shrank  from  controversy  on  matters  of  political 
principle,  and  he  almost  never  failed  to  cover  his 
antagonists  with  confusion.  He  never  waited  to 
see  what  the  drift  of  public  sentiment  would  be 
before  committing  the  paper  to  a  certain  policy, 
but  unhesitatingly  spoke  out  for  the  course  which 
he  deemed  right,  regardless  of  fear  or  favor. 
And  while  his  ability  to  array  facts  and  figures 
and  arguments  was  extraordinary,  he  had  also  the 
happy  gift  of  inspiring  his  readers  with  that  in 
tense  earnestness  and  enthusiasm  that  dominated 
his  own  nature. 

A  volume  might  readily  be  compiled  from  his 
writings  in  The  Journal,  a  volume  of  genuine  and 
permanent  interest.  There  is  space  in  the  pres 
ent  work  for  only  a  few  brief  quotations.  Here 
is  one,  introducing  the  Hon.  Cassins  M.  Clay  to 
the  Northern  public.  Mr.  Clay  had  come  to  New 
England  to  lecture  on  the  question  of  slavery, 
and  the  relation  of  the  Federal  Government  to 


THE  EDITOR.  69 

that  institution.  Mr.  Elaine  had  learned  much  of 
him  during  his  residence  in  Kentucky,  and  wrote 
of  him  in  The  Journal  as  follows  : 

"  Mr.  Clay  stands  in  the  front  rank  of  the 
opponents  of  slavery,  and  has  taken  that  position, 
not  with  the  applause  of  friends  and  cheers  of 
approbation  from  the  crowd,  but  with  the  loss  of 
good  name  at  home  and  the  sundering  of  many 
personal  ties,  and  even  more,  with  imminent  peril 
to  life  and  limb,  tie  braves  it  all  unquailed, 
though,  for  he  is  a  man  of  true  moral  heroism  and 
undaunted  personal  bravery.  When  he  first  as 
sumed  his  anti-slavery  position  in  Kentucky,  they 
tried  to  bribe  him  with  office  and  place.  The 
Whigs  offered  him  the  Lieutenant- Governorship, 
and  then  a  seat  in  Congress  as  Representative, 
with  the  reversion  of  John  J.  Crittenden's  Sena 
torial  chair.  But  he  scorned  their  offers,  for  he 
was  earnest  and  conscientious  in  his  opposition  to 
slavery.  They  next  tried  force,  and  mobbed  his 
printing  office  and  carried  off  his  press  to  Cincin 
nati,  like  brave  men,  while  Clay  was  confined  to 
his  room  with  serious  illness  ;  and  when  all  these 
demonstrations  were  ineffectual,  they  resorted  to 
personal  violence  and  hired  assassins  to  seek  his 
blood — but  all  in  vain  ;  he  has  conquered  even 
Kentucky,  and  is  stronger  this  day  than  at  any 
other  time  of  his  life. 

"As  a  speaker,  Mr.    Clay   is  very  earnest  and 
persuasive  ;    not  polished    either   in    manner   or 


70  JAMES "G.   ELAINE. 

diction,  but  still  irresistibly  pleasing.  He  speaks 
from  the  soul,  and  the  moment  you  hear  him,  you 
are  assured  that  he  gives  utterance  only  to  what 
he  knows  and  feels  to  be  the  truth  and  the  cause 
of  human  freedom. 

4<  Mr.  Clay  is  a  man  of  fine  personnel,  in  the 
early  prime  of  life — being  only  a  few  years  on  the 
shady  side  of  forty,  and,  but  for  his  full  suit  of 
gray,  readily  passing  for  ten  years  younger.  He 
resembles  ex- Vice-President  Dallas,  who  always 
ranked  as  the  finest-looking  man  on  Pennsylvania 
avenue." 

A  few  days  later  an  act  of  the  Legislature  of 
Indiana,  then  controlled  by  the  pro-slavery  party, 
roused  his  ire,  and  he  made  these  scathing  com 
ments  upon  it  : 

"  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  a  Legislature 
which  would  send  John  Pettitto  the  United  States 
Senate  would  perform  any  other  mean  act  which 
a  dishonest  cupidity  might  instigate  or  suggest. 
Accordingly  it  was  reserved  for  that  same  honor 
able  body  to  enact  a  law  in  regard  to  the  colored 
citizens  of  their  State,  most  oppressive  in  its  daily 
operations,  and  most. disgraceful  from  the  motives 
and  reasons  which  induced  its  passage.  Let  us 
give  a  brief  history  of  it. 

"  Railroad  connection  between  Louisville,  Ky., 
and  Cincinnati  has  long  been  a  desideratum,  and 
would  years  since  have  been  accomplished  but  for 
a  jealousy  which  existed  on  the  part  of  both  cities 


THE  EDITOR.  /I 

as  to  which  side  of  the  Ohio  river  the  road  should  be 
built  on.  For  commercial  reasons,  each  city  and 
section  desired  it  should  be  on  their  side,  while 
the  Kentuckians  had  an  additional  objection  to  its 
going  on  the  Northern  side  of  the  river  in  the 
fact  that  a  facility  would  be  thereby  afforded  for 
the  escape  of  their  slaves.  They  demanded  some 
security  against  this  terrible  danger,  and  the 
Indiana  Legislature — quick  '  to  crook  the  preg 
nant  hinges  of  the  knee  that  thrift  might  follow 
fawning ' — immediately  responded  to  the  desire 
of  their  Kentucky  neighbors  by  annexing  a  condi 
tion  to  the  charter  of  the  railroad  company  that  no 
colored  person  should  be  admitted  as  a  passenger 
in  their  cars  unless  he  produce  evidence  of  his 
freedom. 

"The  following  account  of  a  recent  case  under 
the  law,  clipped  from  an  exchange,  will  briefly  ex 
plain  its  operation  and  the  odious  construction  by 
which  it  is  sustained  : 

"  'A  colored  man  in  Indiana  lately  brought  suit 
before  a  magistrate  against  the  Jeffersonville 
Railroad  Company  because  they  refused  to  admit 
him  to  the  cars  as  a  passenger  until  he  produced 
evidence  of  his  freedom.  The  justice  awarded 
him  twenty  dollars  damages,  but  the  company  ap 
pealed  to  the  Circuit  Court  of  Clarke  county, 
and  a  few  davs  a^o  the  decision  was  reversed. 

'  O 

The  Court   (which  is  a  free  State  tribunal)  held, 
although  the  legal  presumption  is  that  all  persons 


72  JAMES   G.    BLAINE. 

are  free,  yet  the  fact  being1  that  some  colored  per 
sons  are  not  free,  it  is  reasonable  that  the  matter 
should  be  settled  in  each  case  at  the  time  the  col 
ored  person  applies  for  his  seat.' 

"  Could  any  argument,  pretending  to  the  dig 
nity  of  a  ground  for  legal  decision,  be  more  shal 
low  or  more  disgraceful?  Admitting,  as  the  judge 
does,  that  freedom  must  be  the  presumed  state  of 
every  man,  he  offsets  all  advantages  arising  from 
that  presumption  by  adding  that  as  some  colored 
persons  are  not  free,  it  is  reasonable  that  the  mat 
ter  should  be  settled  in  each  case.  What  is  the 
presumption  worth  if  it  must  be  sustained  every 
time  by  positive  evidence  ? 

"Such  legislation  is  in  strong  contrast  with  the 
course  pursued  by  the  Ohio  Legislature  in  1847, 
when  the  subject  of  granting  to  a  company 'the 
right  to  construct  a  bridge  across  the  Ohio  river 
at  Cincinnati,  came  before  them.  The  Kentucky 
Legislature,  from  whom  the  right  had  been  ob 
tained,  so  far  as  they  could  grant  it,  had  cum 
bered  the  charter  with  such  restrictions  in  regard 
to  colored  people  as  made  the  Cincinnati  com 
pany  and  all  their  agents  regular  slave-catchers. 
But  one  honorable  course  was  left  to  the  Ohio 
Legislature,  and  they  followed  it  manfully.  They 
refused  the  charter  and  reprobated  in  strong 
terms,  expressed  in  special  resolution,  an  act 
that  would  so  fir  compromise  the  honor  and  dig 
nity  of  a  great  free  State.  Would  that  their 


THE  EDITOR.  75 

example  had  made  a  deeper  impression  on  their 
neighbors  of  Indiana.  But  we  confess  that  we  ex 
pect  little  from  that  free  State  which  will  keep  in 
the  Senate  of  the  United  States  a  notorious  slave 
holder,  Jesse  D.  Bright,  and  a  still  more  notorious 
blackguard,  John  PetHt.  We  are  really  afraid 
that  their  repudiation  of  the  Nebraska  treachery 
was  only  a  spasmodic  effort,  to  be  followed  by  a 
lethargic  supineness  more  fatal  than  actual  wrong 
doing.  " 

In  the  political  campaign  of  1852  there  were 
three  parties  in  the  field  :  the  Democratic,  op 
posed  to  the  agitation  of  the  slavery  question  in 
any  form  whatever,  in  Congress  or  out  of  it ;  the 
Whig,  also  discountenancing  such  agitation,  and 
holding  to  the  Clay  Compromise  of  1850  as  a  fi 
nality  ;  and  the  Free  Soil,  actively  hostile  to  ex 
tension  of  slavery  and  to  all  pro-slavery  compro 
mises.  The  Democratic  party  was  well  organized, 
united  and  vigorous.  The  Whig  party  was  on 
the  verge  of  disintegration  ;  and  the  Free  Soil 
party  showed  no  promise  of  gaining  ascendency 
or  indeed  any  important  strength.  But,  as 
already  started,  influences  were  at  work,  largely 
in  the  Whig  party  in  the  Northern  States,  toward 
the  formation-  of  a  new  organization,  distinctly 
opposed  to  slavery  and  committed  to  the  prohi 
bition  of  its  extension  into  any  of  the  territories. 

The  Democrats  were  successful  in  the  Presi 
dential  election  of  1852,  their  candidate,  Pierce, 
5 


76  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

receiving  1,601,274  votes,  against  1,386,580  for 
Scott,  Whig,  and  155,825  for  Hale,  Free  Soil. 
Thereafter  the  decline  of  the  Whig  party  was 
greatly  accelerated,  and  it  did  not  strongly  figure 
again  in  a  National  contest.  In  1854  the  Ameri 
can  party  developed  some  strength,  its  chief  prin 
ciple  being  hostility  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church  and  to  foreign  influences  in  politics.  Its 
career  was,  however,  short-lived.  At  the  same 
time  the  anti-slavery  members  of  the  Whig 
party,  the  avowed  Abolitionists,  and  the  Free 
Soilers  began  to  come  together  on  a  common 
platform,  denying  the  right  of  any  territorial  Leg 
islature  to  establish  slavery,  and  declaring  it  the 
right  and  the  duty  of  Congress  to  admit  Kansas  as 
a  free  State,  and  to  insist  upon  freedom  in  all  the 
territories  and  in  the  new  States  that  should 
thereafter  be  admitted  to  the  Union.  Thus  was 
formed  the  organization  known  as  the  Republican 
party.  During  1854  and  1855  it  developed  con 
siderable  strength  in  various  Northern  States, 
and  in  1856  made  its  appearance  in  politics  as  a 
National  organization.  To  it  Mr.  Elaine  gave 
instant  and  most  hearty  allegiance.  He  was  one 
of  its  two  or  three  chief  organizers  in  the  State  of 
Maine,  and  his  newspaper  was  there  its  chief  pub 
lic  exponent.  The  new  party  naturally  met  with 
much  opposition  and  incurred  much  hostile  criti 
cism  at  the  very  outset  of  its  career.  It  was 
charged  with  being  a  sectional  organization,  and 


THE  EDITOR.  77 

with  threatening  the  disruption  of  the  American 
Union.  Against  these  and  similar  attacks  it 
found  in  Mr.  Blaine  one  of  its  most  effective  de 
fenders.  At  the  close  of  1854,  while  the  new 
organization  was  still  in  a  formative  condition,  he 
wrote  in  The  Kennebec  Journal  as  follows,  in  re 
ply  to  the  comments  of  a  contemporary  on  "The 
Permanency  of  the  Republican  Party"  : 

"The  whole  history  of  parties  and  opinions  in 
the  United  States  conclusively  demonstrates  that 
they  are  of  slow  growth,  and  the  result  of  much 
toilsome  effort  and  patient  seed-growing.  From 
the  adoption  of  the  American  Constitution  in  1789 
to  1 80 1  the  same  class  of  political  opinions  was 
predominant  in  this  government,  and  Washington 
and  the  elder  Adams  \vere  their  exponents.  Then 
there  was  a  revolution,  and  the  Jeffersonian  class 
was  inaugurated  and  continued  more  than  twenty- 
five  years,  till  the  opposition  completely  died  out. 
Then  in  1829  the  dynasty  of  Andrew  Jackson 
commenced,  and,  with  only  slight  deviations,  has 
continued  for  about  twenty-five  years  to  the  pres 
ent  time,  till  nearly  every  principle  which  was 
originated  under  his  administration  has  become 
the  settled  and  permanent  judgment  of  the  coun 
try  and  been  incorporated  into  its  history  and 
practice.  Time  and  experience  have  demon 
strated  their  wisdom,  or  the  elastic  spirit  of  the 
American  people  has  closed  over  their  scars,  and 
all  opposition  to  them  has  gradually  died  out,  and 


78  JAMES   G.    BLAINE. 

they  have  ceased  to  be  issues  of  the  present  day. 
In  the  meantime,  and  extending"  back  about 
twenty  years,  new  issues  have  sprung  up.  Cer 
tain  minds  in  the  free  States  began  to  feel  the 
overwhelming  influence  of  slavery  in  the  govern 
ment  and  to  behold  the  disproportionate  power  it 
wielded  in  the  election  and  appointment  of  the 
highest  officers  in  the  gift  of  the  people,  and  were 
alarmed  at  it.  They  began  to  raise  their  voices 
of  remonstrance  against  it  through  the  press,  the 
pulpit  and  forum.  It  was  but  a  small  beginning, 
but  the  men  who  conceived  the  anti-slavery  enter 
prise  were  not  to  be  daunted  by  the  vastness  of 
the  evil  they  had  attacked  or  the  sneers  and  op 
probrium  that  were  heaped  upon  them,  but  with 
firm  hearts  and  unquailing  faith  they  toiled  on,  in 
the  morning  sowing  the  seed  and  at  evening  with 
holding  not  their  hand.  At  first  they  used  only 
the  power  of  argument  and  facts,  but  by  and  by 
the  time  came  to  carry  this  question  to  the  ballot- 
box  and  to  wield  its  omnipotence  to  advance  their 
cause.  This  was  in  1840.  And  thence  taking  a 
new  impulse,  the  movement  went  on,  growing 
little  by  little  by  small  accretions  as  the  coral 
builds  its  mighty  reefs,  till  the  anti-slavery  senti 
ment  had  permeated  and  filled  every  vein  and  ar 
tery,  and  incorporated  itself  into  the  whole  moral 
constitution  of  the  free  States.  While  this  pro 
cess  was  advancing  on  the  one  hand,  the  slave 
power — as  if  to  illustrate  the  principle  of  the 


THE  EDITOR.  79 

ancients,  'whom  the  gods  wish  to  destroy  they  first 
made  mad  ' — became,  on  the  other  hand,  more 
and  more  desperate  in  its  demand,  and,  by  the  aid 
of  Northern  subserviency,  pushed  its  schemes  of 
subjugation  from  conquest  to  conquest  over  the 
rights  and  equalities  of  the  North,  till  at  last  they 
culminated  in  the  Nebraska  act,  that  measure  of 
stupendous  wrong  and  perfidy.  Then  it  was  that 
all  the  anti-slavery  seeds  which  twenty  years  of 
toil,  sacrifice  and  patience  had  disseminated 
through  the  public  mind  burst  out  into  an  irre 
pressible  flame.  The  people  had  restrained  these 
sentiments  for  a  long  time,  in  hopes  that  the  evil 
would  cease  without  violent  remedies.  They  had 
endured  the  compromise  of  1850,  bitter  as  it  was, 
the  infamous  Fugitive  Slave  act,  and  all ;  but  at  last 
endurance  had  ceased  to  be  a  virtue,  and  they 
could  endure  no  longer.  They  could  no  longer 
smother  the  flame  of  liberty  that  \vas  burning  in 
their  breasts,  and  that,  as  The  Merciiry  says, 
'arises  from  the  deepest-rooted  feelings  and  prin 
ciples  '  of  their  natures,  and  can  never  go  back 
any  more  than  the  water  of  Niagara,  that  has 
once  plunged  over  the  precipice,  can  go  back.  It 
must  live  in  the  hearts  it  now  animates.  Its 
growth  has  been  slow — twenty  long  years  ;  its  de 
cay  will  be  equally  slow.  The  great  Republican 
party  that  has  suddenly  developed  itself  on  the 
political  theatre,  embodying  the  anti-slavery  sen 
timent  of  the  country  as  its  leading  characteristic, 


8O  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

when  considered  in  its  natural  elements,  in  its  his 
tory  and  progress,  or  in  the  light  of  experience, 
has  every  appearance  of  permanency  and  pro 
gress. 

"It  does  not,  as  The  Mercury  intimates,  fore 
shadow  the  dissolution  of  the  Union,  but  its  salva 
tion.  The  slave  States  will  never  dissolve  the 
Union.  They  have  too  great  a  stake  in  its  pres 
ervation,  for  the  arm  of  the  Federal  government 
is  absolutely  necessary  to  keep  them  from  insur 
rection  and  massacre  by  the  millions  of  slaves 
now  groaning  under  the  accursed  lash.  But  dis 
solution,  if  it  ever  come,  must  come  from  the  free 
States,  stript  of  their  rights  and  degraded  in  the 
government,  as  they  have  been  for  the  last  twenty 
years,  and  goaded  on  to  desperation  by  a  con 
tinuance  and  perpetual  repetition  of  these  aggres 
sions.  The  Union  will  be  saved  by  arresting  the 
gigantic  strides  of  the  slave  power  towards  politi 
cal  supremacy,  driving  it  back  into  its  legitimate 
sphere  and  restoring  to  the  North  its  just  and 
equal  rights.  But  that  the  other  alternative,  men 
tioned  by  The  Mercury,  may  not  in  the  end  result 
from  the  permanent  dominion  of  the  Republican 
party  we  are  not  prepared  to  deny  ;  on  the  con 
trary,  it  is  the  hope  of  many  an  earnest  heart, 
that  beats  the  warmest  in  this  glorious  movement, 
that  God  in  his  wise  Providence  will  make  it  the 
instrumentality  of  the  final  'extinction  of  slavery' 
in  this  Republic.  In  this  hope  we  live  and  labor, 


THE  EDITOR.  8 1 

and  will  labor  while  we  live,  believing  that  a 
country  redeemed  from  the  shame  .and  curse  of 
slavery,  purified  and  restored  to  the  Republi 
canism  of  its  palmy  days,  will  be  the  richest  legacy 
we  can  leav^e  to  posterity.  Drive  rum  as  a  bever 
age  from  all  avenues  of  society  ;  place  the  tide  of 
foreign  immigration  that  is  pouring  in  upon  us 
with  such  fearful  power  under  proper  restrictions 
and  in  a  course  of  education  that  shall  prepare  it, 
as. the  American  citizen  is  now  prepared,  for  the 
high  functions  of  freedom  ;  strike  the  fetters  from 
the  limb  of  every  slave  that  breathes  in  all  the  vast 
domain,  so  that,  from  centre  to  circumference, 
only  the  glad  shout  of  liberty  shall  be  heard,  and 
the  smile  of  Providence  will  bless  this  land  as  it 
never  has  been  blessed,  and  the  tide  of  national 
prosperity  and  true  , glory  shall  roll  on  from 
generation  to  generation  while  time  shall  last." 
A  few  weeks  later  he  wrote  again  : 
41  It  can  no  longer  be  questioned  that  we  have 
in  Maine  a  well-organized  and  powerful  party, 
which  shares  the  sympathies  and  influence  of  a 
decided  majority  of  the  people.  That  radical  and 
permanent  causes  have  been  operating  for  years 
to  bring  about  the  present  condition  of  things,  is 
so  well  known  as  to  need  no  repetition.  Ignored 
and  resisted,  as  those  causes  were,  by  selfish 
schemers,  personal  aims,  and  the  force  of  old 
party  watchwords,  they  increased  yearly  in 
breadth  and  strength,  until  they  have  become  one 


82  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

resistless  current  of  public  opinion,  fed  by  the 
various  springs  of  moral  and  patriotic  feelings, 
which  are  so  fresh  and  healthful  in  the  social  soil 
of  Maine,  on  which  the  ship  of  State  is  fairly 
launched,  with  the  flags  of  Temperance,  Freedom 
and  American  enterprise  waving  proudly  at  the 
mast-head.  The  Republican  party,  therefore,  is 
not  the  creation  of  a  few  individuals,  or  the  result 
of  tactics  ;  it  is  the  production  of  moral  ideas 
which  have  vegetated  in  the  consciences  and 
hearts  of  the  people.  It  is  pre-eminently  the 
child  of  ideas  and  of  the  people.  Strong  as  these 
ideas  and  their  friends  had  shown  themselves  in 
the  political  efforts  of  the  two  or  three  years  past, 
old  political  organizations  had  prevented  the  union 
of  men  of  like  principles  in  one  well-organized 
party.  The  men  were  called  by  different  names, 
yet  they  had  a  common  faith  and  common  pur 
poses.  Their  principles  needed  expression  in  a 
common  platform.  The  people  desired  one 
political  family  and  one  organization.  Right,  ex 
pediency  and  necessity  called  for  a  Convention. 
What  time  more  opportune  and  appropriate  than 
the  birthday  of  Washington  ?  So  ready  were  the 
people  for  action,  so  manifest  the  necessity,  that 
a  long  notice  was  not  required. 

"  The  Convention  of  the  twenty-second  was 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  and  interesting  that 
ever  assembled  in  our  State.  The  numbers  in 
attendance  were  very  large — not  less  than  nine 


THE  EDITOR.  83 

or  ten  hundred.  It  was  composed  of  the  true 
and  influential  portion  of  the  people  from  all  parts 
of  the  State.  Its  members  came  in  due  propor 
tion  from  all  the  former  political  parties,  in  names 
of  long-established  reputation  and  worth,  known 
in  the  State  and  out  of  it ;  in  men  possessing  the 
confidence  and  representing  the  convictions  of 
their  respective  vicinities,  no  political  assemblage 
ever  held  in  the  State  surpassed  the  one  of 
last  \veek.  No  body  of  men  could  be  more 
united  in  opinion  and  resolution.  The  enthusiasm 
manifested  was  not  a  sudden  and  transitory  feel 
ing,  but  was  the  result  of  a  calm,  yet  intense  con 
viction  that  a  new  era  had  arrived  in  the  politics 
of  the  State  and  the  Nation,  that  high  and  solemn 
duties  are  now  devolving-  on  our  citizens.  The 

o 

resolutions  and  the  speeches  indicated  the  spirit 
and  the  purpose  of  the  Republican  party.  The 
remarks  of  Edward  Kent,  the  President  of  the 
Convention,  on  taking  the  chair,  were  able,  well- 
timed,  and  square  up  to  the  faith  and  determina 
tion  of  a  large  majority  of  the  people  of  the 
State,  at  the  present  time.  As  to  the  candidate 
for  nomination  there  was  but  one  opinion.  There 
is  one  man,  who  by  his  past  course,  his  principles 
and  his  devotion  to  them,  his  courage  and  iron- 
willed  resolution  at  the  right  time,  has  so  endeared 
himself  to  a  majority  of  the  people  that  the  R& 
publicans  demanded  his  nomination  with  an  en 
thusiasm  which  could  not  well  be  surpassed. 


84  JAMES   C.   BLAINE. 

Rightfully,  by  popular  will,  is  Anson  P.  Morrill 
to  be  the  candidate  of  the  Republicans  next  Sep 
tember.  Even  against  his  strongest  personal 
wishes,  the  friends  of  Temperance,  Freedom  and 
truly  American  ideas,  would  demand  that  he 
should  be  their  standard-bearer.  As  to  the  prin 
ciples  of  the  platform,  expressed  by  the  Resolu 
tions,  we  trust  they  will  meet  the  warmest  ap 
proval  of  all  true  Republicans.  They  are  plainly 
in  consonance  with  our  position  as  the  people  of  a 
free  State,  with  our  constitutional  rights  and  our 
relations  to  the  Union.  They  recognize  the  laws 
of  God,  Liberty  and  Humanity,  as  above,  yet  not 
in  conflict,  but  in  harmony  with  the  laws  of  the 
State  and  all  allowable  laws  of  the  Nation.  They 
demand  that  the  people,  and  not  the  thee  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand  nobles,  shall  control  the  Gov 
ernment  of  the  country.  They  demand  that  the 
freedom,  intelligence,  moral  interests,  enterprise, 
labor  and  property  of  twenty  millions  of  citizens 
shall  be  the  controlling  force  of  the  Government, 
instead  of  an  audacious,  haughty  and  demoral 
ized  class  who  constitute  less  than  one-sixtieth  of 
the  Nation.  The  doctrines  of  the  Resolutions  may 
strongly  resemble  the  Whig  doctrines  of  the 
American  Resolution.  They  may  be  like  the 
Democratic  ideas  of  Thomas  Jefferson.  They 
express  the  principles  and  the  settled  determina 
tion  of  the  Republicans  of  Maine,  and,  as  we  be 
lieve,  of  that  great  and  truly  national  party  which 


THE  EDITOR.  85 

is  so  rapidly  gathering  numbers,  strength  and 
prestige,  which  is  to  march  into  power  in  1856, 
and  bring  the  Government  back  to  the  purity  and 
the  ideas  of  its  founders,  and  thus  demonstrate  to 
the  world  that  the  American  people  have  not  for 
gotten  their  history,  are  not  blind  to  what  should 
be  the  solution  of  the  problem  of  American  des 
tiny." 

The  first  National  Convention  of  the  Republi 
can  party  was  held  in  June,  1856,  in  the  city  of 
Philadelphia.  Mr.  Elaine  was  fittingly  sent  to  it 
as  a  delegate  from  the  State  of  Maine  and  he  was 
chosen  one  of  its  Secretaries.  The  Convention 
was  a  heterogeneous  body,  comprising  members 
of  both  the  old  parties  and  representing  all  shades 
of  anti-slavery  opinion.  But  it  met  for  a  single 
purpose,  upon  which  all  its  members  were  heartily 
agreed,  and  to  which  not  one  of  them  was  more 
earnestly  devoted  than  was  the  brilliant  young 
editor  from  Augusta.  Nor  was  there  much  con 
troversy  concerning  the  candidate  who  should  be 
put  forward  for  the  Presidency.  William  H. 
Seward,  of  New  York,  was  the  most  conspicuous 
man  there  and  was  the  undisputed  leader  of  the 
anti-slavery  Whigs.  But  he  did  not  desire  the 
nomination,  nor  did  his  friends  desire  to  urge  it 
upon  him.  He  and  they  were  agreed  that  it  was 
best  for  him  and  for  the  new  party  that  he  should 
remain  in  the  United  States  Senate.  Salmon  P. 
Chase  was  also  a  conspicuous  leader  of  the  young 


86  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

party,  but  neither  did  he  desire  to  be  its  candidate 
for  the  Presidency  at  that  time,  preferring  to  fill  a 
chair  in  the  Senate.  Justice  McLean,  of  the 
Supreme  Court,  was  mentioned  as  a  candidate, 
especially  by  the  older  and  more  conservative 
element.  But  the  majority  of  the  Convention 
regarded  him  as  belonging  too  much  to  the  past. 
A  young  and  energetic  man,  a  man  who  belonged 
to  the  future,  was  required.  Such  a  candidate 
was  found  in  John  Charles  Fremont,  an  anti- 
slavery  Democrat,  a  Senator  from  California,  a 
gallant  army  officer,  and  a  noted  explorer  of  the 
Rocky  Mountain  region.  He  was  nominated  on 
the  first  ballot,  and  the  ticket  was  completed  by 
the  nomination,  also  on  the  first  ballot,  of  William 
L.  Dayton  for  Vice-President,  his  principal  rival 
being  Abraham  Lincoln. 

The  work  of  the  Convention  was  eminently 
satisfactory  to  the  adherents  of  the  Republican 
party  throughout  the  Union,  and  its  nominations 
were  ratified  by  public  mass-meetings  in  almost 
every  city  and  town  throughout  the  North.  Gov 
ernor  Morrill  and  Mr.  Elaine,  the  leaders  of  the 
Maine  delegation,  were  greeted  with  such  a  dem 
onstration  on  their  return  to  Augusta,  on  Satur- 

o 

day,  June  2ist.  At  that  meeting  Mr.  Morrill  made 
the  principal  address.  After  him  came  Mr. 
Blaine,  who  on  that  occasion  made  his  first  impor 
tant  public  speech.  He  took  his  place  at  the 
front  of  the  platform  with  considerable  trepidation. 


THE  EDITOR.  87 

But  after  his  first  few  sentences  he  became 
fired  with  enthusiasm  for  his  subject,  and  for  half 
an  hour  he  spoke  fearlessly  and  eloquently.  He 
arraigned  both  of  the  old  parties  mercilessly  for 
their  attitude  on  the  slavery  question,  and  por 
trayed  the  Republican  party  as  the  organization 
that  must  thenceforth  dominate  National  politics, 
creditably  solve  the  great  issue  of  the  day,  and 
make  the  American  Union  in  fact  as  well  as  in 
name  a  land  of  universal  freedom.  This  speech 
inspired  every  member  of  the  audience  with  the 
enthusiasm  that  the  speaker  himself  so  evidently 
felt,  and  it  marked  Mr.  Elaine  at  once  as  a 
natural  orator  who  was  destined  to  be  as  much  a 
leader  of  thought  upon  the  platform  as  he  was 
already  in  the  editorial  columns  of  his  newspaper. 
During  all  that  campaign  Mr.  Elaine  was  one  of 
the  most  effective  workers  for  the  Republican 
ticket,  both  with  pen  and  voice.  Young  as  he 
was,  he  made  himself  the  most  conspicuous  party 
leader  in  the  State.  And  although,  as  indeed 
was  expected,  Fremont  and  Dayton  were  defeated, 
the  Republican  party  was  established  on  a  perma 
nent  foundation,  with  a  bright  promise  of  success 
in  the  next  National  contest ;  and  in  no  State  was 
its  organization  made  more  complete  or  more  effi 
cient  than  in  Maine,  under  the  guidance  and  inspi 
ration  of  the  editor  of  The  Kennebec  Journal. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1855,  Mr.   Eaker 
sold  his  share  in    The  Kennebec  Journal  to  Mr. 


88  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

John  L.  Stevens,  with  whom  Mr.  Elaine  at  once 
formed  a  new  partnership.  Mr.  Stevens  assumed 
the  business  management  of  the  paper  and  Mr. 
Blaine  remained  in  the  editorial  chair.  In  addi 
tion  to  his  strictly  editorial  duties  Mr.  Blaine  also 
undertook  to  report  the  proceedings  of  the  State 
Senate  for  the  paper,  and  in  that  difficult  task  was 
eminently  successful.  He  showed  himself  a  per 
fect  master  of  all  the  details  of  Legislative  work 
in  every  department,  and  gave  to  his  readers  a 
lucid  and  comprehensive  account  of  everything  of 
importance  that  was  done.  At  the  same  time  he 
maintained  the  full  vigor  of  his  editorial  writings, 
as  may  be  seen  from  the  following,  which  was 
printed  in  February,  1855,  on  the  re-election  of 
Mr.  Seward  as  United  States  Senator  from  New 
York  : 

"  The  prayer  of  the  freeman  is  answered.  A 
question  of  the  highest  importance,  the  right  de 
cision  of  which  for  months  has  excited  the  deep 
est  solicitude,  has  been  solved  to  the  joy  of  pa 
triotic  Americans  and  for  the  welfare  of  the 
public.  By  the  force  of  his  own  character  as  a 
man  and  a  statesman,  and  of  the  moral  and 
political  principles  which  he  represented  and  in 
him  centred,  William  H.  Seward  has  been  re- 
elected  to  the  American  Senate  by  the  State 
which  in  her  earlier  days  gave  the  Nation  a  Clin 
ton,  a  Livingston,  a  Jay,  a  Hamilton,  and  which  now 
with  her  population,  her  resources  and  strength 


THE  EDITOR.  89 

increased  twenty-fold,  bears  up  in  her  arms 
freedom's  great  leader  against  traitors  at  home 
and  storms  of  relentless  opposition  from  abroad. 
The  heart  of  the  nation  throbs  at  the  event  which, 
amid  exultation  and  congratulations,  lightning  and 
steam  are  announcing  to  the  true  men  of  this 
whole  continent  and  of  the  civilized  world.  The 
contest  through  which  he  has  passed  is  without 
parallel  in  the  history  of  this  country.  We  have 
waited  until  the  clouds  of  the  conflict  were  passing 
away  and  the  cannon  of  rejoicing  had  ceased,  to 
express  our  exultant  gratitude  at  the  event  to  which 
we  have  looked  forward  with  the  strongest  hope 
and  in  regard  to  which,  for  a  brief  hour,  we  had 
fears.  It  was  our  fortune  to  be  in  New  York  city 
last  October  when  the  Union  Convention  had  its 
session.  Mingling  quietly  with  the  throngs  that 
crowded  the  hotels  from  all  parts  of  the  Empire 
State,  we  learned  much  of  the  real  purpose  of 
the  men  who  controlled  the  deliberations  and 
plans  of  that  Convention.  We  became  satisfied 
that  the  guiding  purpose  of  the  combinations  there 
made  was  not  love  for  American  principles,  not 
reform  in  the  naturalization  laws,  but  the  defeat 
of  Myron  H.  Clark,  and  through  that  result  the 
political  annihilation  of  William  H.  Seward. 
Hards,  Softs  and  Silver  Grays  joined  hands,  with 
nothing  else  to  unite  them  but  indifference  to 
freedom  and  a  common  hatred  of  its  leading 
champion.  We  saw  that  the  influence  of  tens  of 


90  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

thousands  of  good  men  was  to  be  converted  to 
uses  foreign  to  true  American  principles,  and,  if 
successful,  disastrous  to  the  position  which  New 
York  holds  among  her  sister  States,  in  respect 
to  that  great  issue  now  before  us,  whether  free 
dom  or  slavery  shall  rule  the  destiny  of  this 
nation. 

"  Reviewing  the  field,  we  saw  that  nothing  but 
Mr.  Se ward's  naked  strength  and  the  devotion  of 
the  people  of  the  Empire  State  to  him  and  to  his 
principles  could  rescue  him  from  the  combined 
array  against  him.  We  watched  the  contest  with 
the  deepest  solicitude.  Four  months  have  passed. 
The  coalition  of  wickedness  culminated.  The  bat 
tle  is  over.  The  great  American  statesman  is 
unscathed,  and  now  occupies  a  prouder  elevation 
before  his  countrymen  than  ever  before,  and  a 
serener  and  broader  future  is  his  secure.  Never 
since  the  establishment  of  the  Republic  has  there 
been  a  greater  necessity  for  a  leading  statesman 
of  far-seeing  vision,  of  heroic,  unyielding  will,  of 
courage  that  no  threat  or  danger  can  blanch, 
of  genius  to  organize  and  guide.  God's  neces 
sity  in  the  affairs  of  men  is  always  realized  in  his 
tory.  We  trust  the  friends  of  Mr.  Seward  will 
not  misunderstand  the  cause  and  the  meaning  of 
his  triumph.  His  election  is  not  the  success  or  the 
defeat  of  the  old  political  organizations.  His  bit 
terest  and  ablest  foes  are  among  those  who  claim 
to  belong  to  the  party  with  which  he  labored  from 


THE  EDITOR.  93 

its  formation  to  the  hour  of  its  final  overthrow. 
Many  of  his  ablest  and  most  devoted  friends  and 
supporters  have  belonged  to  the  Democratic 
party.  In  reality  his  election  has  been  secured 
by  that  party  which  has  been  gathering1  numbers 
and  strength  from  all  former  organizations, 
which  has  arisen  a  young  giant,  soon  to  be  the 
Hercules  to  drive  the  monsters  from  the  national 
capital  and  trample  under  its  feet  the  serpents 
and  vipers  which  have  alarmed  and  bitten  the 
sons  of  liberty  and  poisoned  and  checked  the 
growth  of  the  best  plants  of  American  civiliza 
tion.  Not  as  the  champion  of  an  effete  and  a 
rapidly  dissolving  party,  but  as  a  great  statesman 
and  sworn  defender  of  freedom  and  the  Union, 
he  finds  congenial  fellowship  with  Chase,  Sum 
mer,  Wade,  Fessenden,  Hamlin,  King,  Johnson, 
Wilson,  Strong,  Hall,  Durkee  and  that  whole 
school  of  vigorous  and  determined  men  of  com 
mon  blood  and  aim,  who  are  by  the  will  of  God 
and  the  people  to  make  it  historical  fact,  ere  1860, 
that  slavery  is  sectional  and  temporary,  that  free 
dom  is  national  and  universal,  and  that  American 
principles  shall  rule  to  the  exclusion  of  ideas  and 
elements  which  had  their  birth  amid  the  feudal 
institutions  and  the  despotism  of  the  old  world/' 
The  caustic  quality  of  the  same  pen  is  strik 
ingly  observable  in  an  editorial  published  a  month 
later  on  the  adjournment  of  the  Thirty-third  Con 
gress.  That  body  had  been  dominated  by  the 


94  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

pro-slavery  element,  and  had  committed  many 
acts  that  were  most  repugnant  to  public  sentiment 
throughout  the  free  States.  Of  it  and  of  its  re 
cord,  and  of  the  prospects  for  the  future,  Mr. 
Elaine  wrote : 

"  The  first  days  of  March  have  been  auspicious 
not  alone  as  indicating  a  pleasant  spring  and  a 
favorable  season  for  the  husbandman,  but  they 
came  loaded  writh  providential  blessings  to  the 
American  people  in  that  they  give  riddance  to 
that  body  of  men  whom,  by  the  necessities  of  the 
case,  we  must  denominate  the  Thirty-third  Con 
gress  of  the  United  States.  It  is  an  event  that 
should  give  the  nation  mingled  feelings  of  shame 
and  rejoicing — shame  that  the  free  suffrages  of 
the  people  should  have  elected  to  high  and  sol 
emn  trusts  men  so  wanting  in  right  qualification, 
true  patriotism  and  elevated  characters  as  a  ma 
jority  of  that  body  has  shown  itself — rejoicing 
that  it  is  beyond  their  power  longer  to  disgrace  the 
capitol  by  their  corruptions,  their  reckless  auda 
city,  and  their  conspiracies  against  liberty  and 
the  broadest  and  best  interests  of  the  Union.  If 
the  people  of  England  had  reason  for  joy  when 
Oliver  Cromwell  drove  the  rump  Parliament  out 
of  doors  and  told  its  members  to  begone  to  their 
homes,  how  much  more  should  the  citizens  of  free 
America  manifest  their  pleasure  that  time  in  its 
long-suffering  mercy  had  put  an  end  to  the  power 
of  the  men  who  have  violated  solemn  compacts, 


THE  EDITOR.  95 

struck  down  the  sacred  landmarks  established  by 
the  fathers  of  the  Republic,  and  committed  the 
government  of  the  country  to  the  principles  and 
policy  of  a  depotism  worthy  of  Rome  in  her  dark 
est  days.  A  Congress  that  passed  the  Kansas 
and  Nebraska  bill,  and  gave  so  many  proofs  of  a 
want  of  elevated  patriotism  as  the  one  just  termi 
nated,  would  have  been  ready  to  elect  a  monarch 
or  surrender  the  Republic  for  an  empire,  if  sur 
rounded  by  circumstances  and  pressed  by  events 
favoring  the  exchange.  How  much  of  infamy  be 
longs  to  the  existing  National  Administration  we 
need  not  now  affirm.  Enough  and  dark  as  night 
is  the  part  for  which  God  and  history  will  hold  it 
responsible.  Two  long  years  more  we  must  en 
dure  its  power  and  its  debasement,  though  it  may 
be  hoped  that  a  righteous  discipline  and  the  nerve 
and  high  resolves  of  the  new  Republican  House 
of  Representatives  may  keep  it  from  going  fur 
ther  down  those  deeps  to  which  its  present  ani 
mus  and  impetus  would  carry  it.  But  our  remarks 
now  respect  the  termination  of  the  Thirty-third 
Congress.  Only  of  that  can  we  say  our  sorrows 
are  past.  How  many  and  deep  these  sorrows — 
how  much  the  nation  has  lost  by  the  littleness  and 
want  of  political  justice  and  true  statesmanship  on 
the  part  of  the  controlling  majority  of  the  Con 
gress  just  closed,  posterity  and  the  future  histo 
rian  alone  can  tell.  Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the 
evil  thereof.  Our  hope  for  the  future  is  that  the 


g6  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

evil  will  cure  itself,  that  the  wickedness  has  cul 
minated,  ?nd  the  reaction  is  fast  bringing  the  con 
trol  of  the  iiati  jn  into  purer  and  stronger  hands. 
Did  we  not  so  hope,  we  should  regard  the  days 
of  the  Republic  numbered.  For  such  utter  defi 
ance  of  the  laws  of  humanity ;  such  prostitution 
of  solemn  trust  and  opportunities  ;  such  open  and 
unblushing  violations  of  the  spirit  and  intent  of 
our  American  institutions,  unless  arrested  by  the 
might  of  the  people's  will  and  the  strong  arms  of 
patriotic  statesmen,  must  end  in  the  nation's  night 
and  desolation.  In  speaking  as  we  have  of  the 
majority  of  Congress  just  passed  from  power,  of 
course  we  design  no  reflection  on  those  true  men 

o 

who  have  stood  up  manfully  against  threats  and 
bribes  in  the  defence  of  the  Constitution  and  the 
law?  ;  sacred  engagements  and  the  assaulted  and 
scouted  principles  of  liberty  and  humanity,  on 
which  the  Republic  is  based,  and  in  love  of  which 
only  it  can  endure.  All  praise  to  that  noble  band 
whose  names  we  need  not  call.  The  nation  will 
remember  them.  An  approving  constituency 
will  receive  them  warmly  to  their  homes  and 
give  them  the  meed  of  approbation  for  labors 
well  performed  and  solemn  trusts  faithfully 
held." 

At  about  the  same  time  he  wrote  as  follows  of 
the  troubles  in  Kansas,  for  which  that  same 
Thirty-third  Congress  had  been  chiefly  respon 
sible  : 


THE  EDITOR.  97 

"  The  opening  spring  and  coming  summer  will 
be  important  and  exciting  eras  in  the  history  of 
Kansas  Territory,  and  will  probably  witness  the 
close  of  the  struggle  which  is  to  consign  that  fine 
land  to  the  curse  of  human  slavery  or  dedicate  it 
forever  to  freedom.  The  newspapers  established 
at  different  points  in  the  territory  are  already 
waging  war  fiercely — the  free  press  battling  man 
fully  for  the  rights  of  humanity,  and  the  slave 
press  as  earnestly,  if  not  as  ably  and  honestly, 
working  for  the  introduction  and  permanent  en- 
graftment  of  the  'peculiar  institution.'  The  pro- 
slavery  party  are  very  bitter  against  Governor 
Reeder.  They  cannot  forgive  him  for  showing 
the  impulses  of  an  honest  heart,  and  the  courage 
of  a  bold  one,  in  the  stand  he  took  in  regard  to 
the  frauds  practised  in  the  election  of  congress 
ional  delegate  last  fall.  They  find  to  their  sore 
discomfiture,  that  in  the  Governor  they  have 
'caught  a  tartar'  when  they  were  least  looking 
for  one.  Identified,  as  Reeder  always  was  in 
Pennsylvania,  with  the  hardest  of  the  hard-shell 
Democrats,  and  appointed  to  his  present  place  at 
the  solicitation  and  by  the  influence  of  Senator 
Broadhead,  who  voted  in  favor  of  the  Nebraska 
bill,  the  Southern  party  thought  they  had  secured 
the  game  in  their  own  hands,  when  such  a  man 
was  selected  for  Governor.  Such  also  we  know 
was  the  prevalent  belief  in  Pennsylvania  at  th~ 
time  of  Reeder's  appointment.  The  more  credit, 


98  JAMES   G.   ELAINE, 

therefore,  is  due  to  him  for  breaking  away  from 
the  corrupt  influences  which  pressed  upon  him 
and  coming  out  boldly  in  favor  of  freedom. 

"  Atchison,  who  is  the  recognized  leader  of  the 

o 

pro-slavery  forces,  is  again  in  the  territory  at 
tending  to  the  spring  elections,  and  using  all  his 
efforts  to  have  them  carrie.l,  as  they  were  in  the 
past  autumn,  by  the  imported  desperadoes  of 
Missouri.  As  an  offset  to  these  adverse  forces, 
we  have  encouraging  accounts  of  the  success  of 

o       r> 

the  emigration  societies,  who  have  great  hopes  of 
throwing  into  the  territory,  during  the  approach 
ing  summer,  a  sufficient  number  of  earnest 

o 

Northern  freemen  to  counterbalance  all  the  cor 
rupt  influence  of  the  Missouri  frontiersmen,  and 
to  outvote  them  at  the  election  in  the  fall.  A 
party  of  seventy-six  left  Boston  on  the  6th  inst., 
and  are  already  in  the  territory.  A  much  larger 
party,  though  we  do  not  know  the  exact  number, 
was  to  have  left  on  Tuesday,  to  be  followed  by  a 
third  on  Friday.  These  emigrants  will  meet  large 
numbers  from  the^  States  of  New  York,  Pennsyl 
vania  and  Ohio,  who  will  reach  the  territory  even 
in  advance  of  them,  and  unite  cordially  with  them 
in  their  labors  in  behalf  of  freedom.  These 
emigration  societies  form  the  strong  lever  with 
which  the  North  must  work  to  keep  the  slave 
power  from  our  territories.  They  deserve  at  our 
hands  aid  and  encouragement — not  that  we  would 
advise  any  one  to  leave  our  own  good  State  or  a 


THE  EDITOR.  99 

comfortable  home  and  prosperous  business  else 
where,  but  merely  to  direct  those  who  are  already 
seeking  a  location  in  the  far  West,  to  the  fertile 
plains  of  Kansas,  where,  with  unexcelled  oppor 
tunities  for  improving  their  personal  condition, 
they  will  find  also  the  largest  field  for  benefiting 
their  fellow-men  by  assisting  in  the  foundation  of 
a  great  and  freejState." 

In  the  summer  of  1858,  Mr.  Elaine  retired  from 
the  editorship  of  The  Kennebec  Journal,  and  re 
moved  for  a  short  time  from  Augusta  to  Portland, 
where  he  became  the  editor  of  The  Portland  Ad 
vertiser,  an  important  and  influential  paper.  Here 
his  work  was  characterized  by  the  same  features 
that  had  marked  it  at  Augusta,  and  he  showed 
himself  possessed  of  all  the  qualities  that  go  to 
make  up  a  successful  journalist.  -  His  remarkable 
memory  of  facts,  figures,  names  and  places  was 
of  immense  service  to  him  ;  so  were  his  quickness 
and  accuracy  of  judgment ;  so  were  his  earnest 
ness  and  enthusiasm  ;  so  were  his  courage,  his 
fair-mindedness,  and  the  aggressive  spirit  that 
made  him  such  a  successful  leader  of  his  own 
party  and  such  a  terror  to  his  foes. 

The  days  of  his  life  in  the  sanctum  were,  how 
ever,  numbered.  The  people  of  Augusta  were 
too  strongly  attached  to  him  to  allow  him  to  re 
main  long  at  Portland.  If  they  could  not  have 
him  among  them  as  an  editor,  they  whould  have 
him  as  a  legislator.  Accordingly,  in  September, 


100  JAMES   G.  BLAINE. 

1858,  they  elected  him  as  their  representative  in 
the  State  Legislature  ;  and  they  re-elected  him 
again  in  1859  and  1860  ;  so  that  he  served  in  the 
three  Legislatures  of  1859,  1860,  1861,  in  the  last 
two  being  -Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives.  The  same  qualities  which  had  given  him 
success  as  a  teacher,  and  as  an  editor,  also  gave 
him  success  as  a  legislator.  He  showed  himself 
a  master  of  Parliamentary  law,  a  close  student  of 
public  affairs,  an  unerring  judge  of  men  and 
of  measures,  an  eloquent  orator,  and  an  irresist 
ible  debater.  As  the  presiding  officer  of  the 
House,  he  was  eminently  dignified,  impartial  and 
authoritative.  He  never  hesitated  in  making  his 
decisions  on  points  of  order,  and  the  justness  of 
them  was  seldom  disputed.  When  he  retired 
from  the  State  capitol  to  enter  the  more  import 
ant  field  offered  by  the  National  Legislature,  he 
carried  with  him  the  respect  and  the  good  wishes 
of  all  his  associates. 


CHAPTER  V. 

REPRESENTATIVE    IN    CONGRESS. 

Some  of  His  Colleagues  in  His  First  Term — Relations  with  President 
Lincoln — Speeches  on  the  Draft,  the  Enrolment,  and  Other  Topics  — 
Defence  of  the  State  of  Maine — Opposition  to  the  Greenback  Craze — 
Three  Terms  in  the  Speakership — A  Lively  Controversy  with  General 
Butler — The  Salary  Grab — Leader  of  the  Minority — A  Strong  Declara 
tion  of  Political  Principles — Close  of  His  Career  as  a  Representative. 

"  It  is  not  a  good  thing,"  said  Abraham  Lincoln, 
"to  swap  horses  while  crossing  a  stream."  The 
observation  is  as  truthful  as  it  is  simple,  and  as  im 
portant  as  it  is  homely.  Its  original  application  was 
to  the  Chief  Executive,  and  to  the  general  policy  of 
the  Administration.  But  it  might  have  been  ap 
plied  with  equal  fitness,  and  indeed  was  in  great 
measure  tacitly  applied,  to  leadership  in  the  Na 
tional  Legislature.  During  the  War  of  the  Rebel 
lion,  the  Republican  party  dominated  all  branches 
of  the  Government.  It  had  elected  its  Presidential 
candidate,  Abraham  Lincoln,  in  1860.  It  had  also 
elected  a  majority  of  each  House  of  Congress,  a 
majority  that  was  greatly  strengthened  by  the 
resignation  and  departure  of  the  disloyal  mem 
bers  from  the  seceding  States.  These  Republican 
Senators  and  Representatives  included,  naturally, 
many  who  were  new  to  public  life  ;  and  other  new 
recruits  were  returned  at  the  elections  of  1862. 

101 


102  JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

They  included,  however,  a  considerable  number 
of  experienced,  meri/who,  as  members  of  one  or 
the  other  of  the  old  parties,  had  for  years  been 
eminent  in  the  public  service.  These  latter  were 
in  office  both  before  and  at  the  outbreak  of  the 
war;  they  were  responsible  for  the  policy  of  the 
dominant  party,  and  for  the  attitude  it  had  as 
sumed  and  had  caused  the  Government  to  assume 
toward  the  insurgents  ;  and  it  was,  therefore,  most 
wise  and  fitting  that  they  should  retain  the  leader 
ship  until  the  restoration  of  peace,  and  that  their 
younger  colleagues,  no  matter  how  great  their 
ability,  should  be  content  for  the  time  to  follow 
them,  rather  than  strive  for  the  supreme 
command. 

Thus  it  came  to  pass  that  Mr;  Elaine,  who  was 
elected  in  1862,  and  in  1863  took  his  seat  as  a 
Representative  in  the  Thirty-eighth  Congress,  did 
not  at  once  spring  into  that  prominence  for  which 
his  genius  amply  fitted  him.  The  files  of  The 
Congressional  Globe,  for  that  Congress  and  the 
succeeding  Congress,  contain  few  speeches  made 
by  him  ;  and  the  few  that  he  did  make  were  brief, 
though  always  pointed  and  effective.  Yet  it  was 
evident  to  the  careful  observer  that  he  was  stand 
ing  for  a  time  in  the  background  only  through 
personal  choice,  and  that  presently,  when  he 
deemed  the  occasion  propitious,  he  would  easily 
step  at  once  into  the  foremost  ranks  of  co'ntem- 
porary  statesmen. 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN  CONGRESS.  103 

In  1 862,  the  affairs  of  the  Nation  were  in  a  most 
critical  condition,  and  loyal  men  everywhere 
throughout  the  country  saw  that  it  was  necessary 
to  send  only  the  ablest  and  staunchest  patriots  to 
Washington  to  conduct  the  affairs  of  the  Govern 
ment.  Accordingly,  the  Republicans  of  the 
Kennebec  district  of  Maine  unanimously  selected 
Mr.  Elaine  as  their  candidate  for  Congress.  It 
was  largely  owing  to  his  own  leadership  that  that 
district,  and  indeed  the  entire  State,  had  been 
made  overwhelmingly  Republican,  and  it  was, 
therefore,  only  a  fitting  recognition  of  his  services 
that  he  was  elected  by  a  majority  of  3,422. 
Thaddeus  Stevens,  of  Pennsylvania,  was  then  the 
unchallenged  leader  of  the  House,  and  amon^ 

O  •£> 

Mr.  Blaine's  colleagues  were   Roscoe   Conklino-, 

o  i> 

Schuyler  Colfax,  James  F.  Wilson,  William  B. 
Allison,  James  A.  Garfield,  Samuel  J.  Randall, 
William  D.  Keiley,  Elihu  B.  Washburne,  Owen 
Lovejoy,  George  W.  Julian,  Godlove  S.  Orth,  John 
A.  Kasson,  Henry  L.  Dawes,  William  Windom, 
Alexander  H.  Rice,  Frank  P.  Blair,  Jr.,  Erastus 
Corning,  James  Brooks,  Robert  C.  Schenck, 
Reuben  E.  Fenton,  George  H.  Pendleton,  Francis 
Kernan,  G.  W.  Scofield,  and  many  others  who 
have  since  been  eminent  in  the  councils  of  the 
Nation. 

During  his  first  term  in  Congress,  Mr.  Blaine 
was  a  member  of  four  committees,  those  on  Rules, 
Appropriations,  Military  Affairs,  and  the  Post- 


104  /AMES  G.  BLAINE. 

Office,  and  he  quickly  won  a  reputation  as  an  ex 
ceedingly  careful  and  industrious  committeeman. 
He  paid  close  attention  to  the  practical  work  of 
framing  legislation  in  the  committee-rooms,  and 
in  debate  on  the  floor  of  the  House  proved  him 
self  a  worthy  compeer  of  his  associates.  His  first 
important  speech  was  on  the  subject  of  the  as 
sumption  by  the  General  Government  of  the  war 
debts  of  the  States.  He  took  the  ground  that 
the  North  was  abundantly  able  to  prosecute  the 
war  to  a  successful  issue,  and  so  highly  esteemed 
was  this  speech  that  200.000  copies  of  it  were 
circulated  in  1864  as  a  campaign  document.  Re 
ferring  to  the  same  speech,  Thaddeus  Stevens 
said  that  during  his  own  period  of  service  at 
Washington,  no  man  had  come  to  Congress 
showing,  in  his  opinion,  as  great  ability  for  the 
higher  walks  of  public  life  as  James  G.  Elaine. 

The  young  representative  from  Maine  was  of 
course  an  earnest  supporter  of  the  Administra 
tion,  and  was  a  strong  advocate  of  the  renomina- 
tion  of  President  Lincoln.  In  respect  to  his  re 
lations  with  the  President,  Mr.  Ward  H.  Lamon, 
who  was  Marshal  of  the  District  of  Columbia  and 
on  terms  of  especial  intimacy  with  Mr.  Lincoln, 
makes  the  following  statement : 

o 

"  I  knew  those  who  were  Mr.  Lincoln's  friends 
and  those  who  were  plotting  against  him,  and  I 
am  sure  that  there  was  no  one  among  the  younger 
members  of  Congress  on  more  intimate,  cordial 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN  CONGRESS.  IO$ 

and  confidential  terms  with  him  than  Mr.  Elaine, 
nor  was  there  any  one  more  implicitly  trusted  by 
Mr.  Lincoln.  When  the  movement  was  made 
against  Mr.  Lincoln  in  the  winter  preceding  the 
campaign  of  1864,  Mr.  Blaine  was  the  person 
with  whom  Mr.  Lincoln  constantly  conferred 
about  Maine,  and  I  was  present  at  a  conference 
between  the  two  when  Mr.  Lincoln  requested 
Mr.  Blaine  to  proceed  to  Maine  and  see  if  there 
was  any  adverse  movement  there.  Mr.  Lincoln 
became  acquainted  with  Mr.  Blaine  in  Illinois 
during  his  memorable  campaign  with  Douglas  in 
1858.  Mr.  Blaine  was  corresponding  from  the 
scene  of  contest  with  his  paper  in  Maine,  and  in 
one  of  his  letters  he  predicted  that  Lincoln  would 
be  defeated  for  Senator  by  Douglas,  but  would 
beat  Douglas  for  President  in  1860.  This  letter 
was  copied  in  several  Illinois  papers,  and  Mr. 
Lincoln  cut  it  out  and  carried  it  in  his  small 
memorandum  book  until  long  after  he  was  inau 
gurated  as  President.  It  naturally  laid  the  founda 
tion  for  cordial  friendship  between  the  two." 

A  few  extracts  from  Mr.  Elaine's  remarks  in 
Congress  during  1863  and  1864  will  show  his 
patriotic  attitude  towards  the  great  question  of 
the  day.  Regarding  the  draft  of  troops,  for  ex 
ample,  while  he  recognized  the  necessity  of  the 
thing  and  supported  the  Government  in  its  efforts 
to  bring  the  army  up  to  the  necessary  size,  he 
deprecated  the  unnecessarily  harsh  provisions 


io6  'AMES  G.  ELAINE. 

advocated  by  some  of  his  more  extreme  col 
leagues,  speaking  on  the  subject  as  follows  : 

"A  conscription  is  a  hard  thing  at  best,  Mr. 
Speaker,  but  the  people  of  this  country  are  patrioti 
cally  willing  to  submit  to  one  in  this  great  crisis 
for  the  great  cause  at  stake.  There  is  no  neces 
sity,  however,  for  making  it  absolutely  merciless 
and  sweeping.  I  say,  in  my  judgment,  there  is 
no  necessity  for  making  it  so,  even  if  there  were 
no  antecedent  questions  as  to  the  expediency  and 
practicability  of  the  measure.  I  believe  the  law 
as  it  stands,  allowing  commutation  and  substitu 
tion,  is  sufficiently  effective,  if  judiciously  enforced. 
It  will  raise  a  large  number  of  men  by  its  direct 
operation,  and  it  will  secure  a  very  large  amount 
of  money  with  which  to  pay  bounties  to  volunteers. 

"I  cannot  refrain  from  asking  gentlemen 
around  me  whether  in  their  judgment  the  pending 
measure,  if  submitted  to  the  popular  vote,  would 
receive  the  support  of  even  a  respectable  minority 
in  any  district  in  the  loyal  States?  Just  let  it  be 
understood  that  whoever  the  lot  falls  on  must  go, 
regardless  of  all  business  considerations,  all 

o 

private  interests,  all  personal  engagements,  all 
family  obligations  ;  that  the  draft  is  to  be  sharp, 
decisive,  final  and  inexorable,,  without  commuta 
tion  and  without  substitution,  and  my  word  for  it 
you  will  create  consternation  in  all  the  loyal 
States.  Such  a  conscription-  was  never  resorted 
to  but  once,  even  in  the  French  Empire  under  the 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN  CONGRESS.  IO/ 

absolutism  of  the  first  Napoleon,  and  for  the  Con 
gress  of  the  United  States  to  attempt  its  enforce 
ment  upon  their  constituents  is  to  ignore  the  first 
principles  of  Republican  and  Representative 
Government." 

On  an  occasion  near  the  close  of  the  war,  in  a 
speech  on  the  Enrolment  Bill,  in  February,  1865, 
he  spoke  as  follows  in  behalf  of  the  soldiers  in  the 
field: 

"Nothing  so  discourages  and  disheartens  the 

C>  O 

brave  men  at  the  front  as  the  belief  that  proper 
measures  are  not  adopted  at  home  for  re-enforcing 
and  sustaining  them.  Even  a  lukewarmness  or 

o 

a  backwardness  in  that  respect  is  enough ;  but 
when  you  add  to  that  the  suspicion  that  unfair 
devices  have  been  resorted  to  by  those  charged 
with  filling  quotas,  you  naturally  influence  the 
prejudices  and  passions  of  our  veterans  in  the 
field,  in  a  manner  calculated  to  lessen  their  per 
sonal  zeal,  and  generally  to  weaken  the  discipline 
of  the  army.  After  four  years  of  such  patriotic 
and  heroic  effort  for  National  unity  as  the  world 
has  never  witnessed  before,  we  cannot  now  afford 
to  have  the  great  cause  injured,  or  its  fair  fame 
darkened  by  a  single  unworthy  incident  connected 
with  it.  The  improper  practices  of  individuals 
cannot  disgrace  or  degrade  the  Nation  ;  but  after 
these  practices  are  brought  to  the  attention  of 
Congress,  we  shall  assuredly  be  disgraced  and 
degraded  if  we  fail  to  apply  the  requisite  remedy 


108  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

when  that  remedy  is  in  our  power.  Let  us,  then, 
in  this  hour  of  triumph  to  the  National  arms,  do 
our  duty  here,  our  duty  to  the  troops  in  the  field, 
our  duty  to  our  constituents  at  home,  and  our 
duty,  above  all,  to  our  country,  whose  existence 
has  been  in  such  peril  in  the  past,  but  whose 
future  of  greatness  and  glory  seems  now  so  as 
sured  and  so  radiant." 

The  following  extract  is  from  a  speech  on  the 
duties  of  the  Federal  Government  toward  the 
Unionists  in  the  rebel  States : 

"Among  the  most  solemn  duties  of  a  sovereign 
government  is  the  protection  of  those  citizens 
who,  under  great  temptations  and  amid  great 
perils,  maintain  their  faith  and  their  loyalty.  The 
obligation  on  the  Federal  Government  to  protect 
the  loyalists  of  the  South  is  supreme,  and  they 
must  take  all  needful  means  to  assure  that  pro 
tection.  Among  the  most  needful  is  the  gift  of 
free  suffrage,  and  that  must  be  guaranteed. 
There  is  no  protection  you  can  extend  to  a  man 
so  effective  and  conclusive  as  the  power  to  protect 
himself.  And  in  assuring  protection  to  the  loyal 
citizen,  you  assure  permanency  to  the  govern 
ment,  so  that  the  bestowal  of  suffrage  is  not 
merely  the  discharge  of  a  personal  obligation 
toward  those  who  are  enfranchised,  but  it  is  the 
most  far-sighted  provision  against  social  disorder, 
the  surest  guarantee  for  peace,  prosperity  and 
public  justice," 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN  CONGRESS.  I  I  I 

In  one  of  the  political  controversies  that  marked 
the  proceedings  of  Congress  in  the  summer  of 
1864,  the  Hon.  S.  S.  Cox,  then  of  Ohio,  but  after 
ward  of  New  York,  made  some  remarks  criticising 
the  State  of  Maine.  Mr.  Elaine  considered  them 
most  unjust,  and  quickly  rose  to  the  defence  of 
his  adopted  home.  In  the  course  of  his  reply  to 
Mr.  Cox  he  said  : 

"  If  there  be  a  State  in  this  Union  that  can  say 
with  truth  that  her  federal  connection  confers  no 
special  benefit  of  a  material  character,  that  State 
is  Maine,  and  yet,  sir,  no  State  is  more  attached 
to  the  Federal  Union  than  Maine.  Her  affection 
and  her  pride  are  centred  in  the  Union,  and  God 
knows  she  has  contributed  of  her  best  blood  and 
treasure  without  stint  in  supporting  the  war  for 
the  Union,  and  she  will  do  so  to  the  end.  But 
she  resents,  and  I,  speaking  for  her,  resent  the 
insinuation  that  she  derives  any  undue  advantage 
from  Federal  legislation,  or  that  she  gets  a  single 
dollar  that  she  does  not  pay  back.  *  *  j  have 
spoken  in  vindication  of  a  State  that  is  as  indepen 
dent  and  as  proud  as  any  within  the  limits  of  the 
Union.  I  have  spoken  for  a  people  as  high-toned 
and  as  honorable  as  can  be  found  in  the  wide  world 
—many  of  them  my  constituents,  who  are  as  many 
and  as  brave  as  ever  faced  the  ocean's  storms.  So 
long,  sir,  as  I  have  a  seat  on  this  floor,  the  State 
of  Maine  shall  not  be  slandered  by  the  gentleman 
from  Ohio,  or  by  gentlemen  from  any  other  State." 


112  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

At  another  time,  another  attack  was  made  upon 
the  State  of  Maine,  in  the  Senate  as  well  as  in  the 
House,  during  a  debate  on  the  bill  granting 
bounties  to  the  fisheries.  On  this  occasion  Mr. 
Elaine  said  : 

"  A  great  deal  has  been  said  recently  in  the 
other  end  of  the  capitol  in  regard  to  the  fishing 
bounties,  a  portion  of  which  is  paid  to  Maine.  I 
have  a  word  to  say  on  that  matter,  and  I  may  as 
well  say  it  here.  According  to  the  records  of 
the  Navy  Department,  the  State  of  Maine  has 
sent  into  the  naval  service  since  the  beginning  of 
this  war,  six  thousand  skilled  seamen,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  trained  and  invaluable  officers  she 
has  contributed  to  the  same  sphere  of  patriotic 
duty.  For  these  men  the  State  has  received  no 
credit  whatever  on  her  quotas  for  the  army.  If 
you  will  calculate  the  amount  of  bounty  that 
would  have  been  paid  to  that  number  of  men  had 
they  enlisted  in  the  army  instead  of  entering  the 
navy,  as  they  did  without  bounty,  you  will  find 
that  it  will  foot  up  a  larger  sum  than  Maine  has 
received  in  fishing  bounties  for  the  past  twenty 
years.  Thus,  sir,  the  original  proposition  on 
which  fishing  bounties  were  granted — that  they 
would  build  up  a  hardy  and  skilled  class  of 
mariners  for  the  public  defence  in  time  of  public 
danger — has  been  made  good  a  hundred  and  a 
thousand-fold  by  the  experience  and  the  develop 
ments  of  this  war." 


REPRESENTA  TIVE  IN  CONGRESS.  1 1 3 

In  the  fall  of  1864,  Mr.  Elaine  was  elected  for 
a  second  term  in  Congress  by  a  majority  of 
4,328.  During  this  Thirty-ninth  Congress  he  was 
a  member  of  several  important  committees  and 
took  a  more  active  and  conspicuous  part  in  the 
business  of  the  House  than  during  his  first  term 
Reconstruction  of  the  Southern  States  came  for 
ward  as  a  leading  topic  of  legislation,  and  in 
consideration  and  discussion  of  it  he  played  an 
important  part.  Early  in  January,  1866,  he  intro 
duced  a  resolution  on  the  subject  of  Congres 
sional  representation,  which  afterward  became  the 
basis  of  that  part  of  the  Fourteenth  Amendment 
to  the  Constitution  bearing  upon  that  subjec- 
Before  that  time,  the  tendency  had  been  to  appo 
don  Representatives  according  to  the  number  c. 
•ictual  voters.  The  change  proposed  and  largel}' 
achieved  by  Mr.  Elaine,  based  the  apportionment 
•jf  Representatives  and  direct  taxes  upon  the 
\vhole  number  of  persons  in  each  State,  excluding 
Indians  not  taxed. 

Mr.  Elaine's  services  at  Washington  more  and 
more  commended  him  to  the  confidence  of  his 
constituents  in  Maine  ;  and  in  the  fall  of  1866,  he 
was  elected  for  a  third  term  by  the  great  majority 
of  6,591.  In  the  Fortieth  Congress,  which  he  thu<; 
entered  in  the  fall  of  1867,  he  was  a  very  conspicu^ 
ous  figure,  and  was  occasionally  called  to  occib 
py  temporarily  the  Speaker's  chair.  Said  an 
observant  newspaper  writer  at  this  time  :  "  Mr. 


114  JAMES   G.   BLAIXE. 

Elaine  is  metallic ;  you  cannot  conceive  how  a 
shot  should  pierce  him,  for  there  seem  no  joints 
in  his  harness.  He  is  a  man  who  knows  what 
the  weather  was  yesterday  morning  in  Dakota, 
what  the  Emperor's  policy  will  be  touching 
Mexico,  on  what  day  of  the  week  the  i6th  of 
December  proximo  will  fall,  who  is  chairman  of 
the  School  Committee  in  Kennebunk,  what  is  the 
best  way  of  managing  the  National  Debt,  together 
with  all  the  other  interests  of  to-day,  which  any 
body  else  would  stagger  under.  How  he  does 
it,  nobody  knows.  He  is  always  in  his  place. 
He  must  absorb  details  by  assimilation  at  his 
finger  ends.  As  I  said,  he  is  clear  metal.  His 
features  are  made  in  a  mould  ;  his  attitudes  are 
those  of  a  bronze  figure  ;  his  voice  clinks  ;  and 
he  has  ideas  fixed  as  brass." 

At  the  very  opening  of  this  Congress,  ques 
tions  of  national  finance  became  prominent.  Mr. 
Pendletori,  of  Ohio,  proposed  the  payment  of  the 
national  bonds  in  greenbacks,  thus  beginning 
what  afterwards  became  the  " greenback  craze." 
Mr.  Elaine  promptly  took  the  floor  in  opposition 
to  this  financial  heresy,  making  the  following 
statesmanlike  declaration  of  principles  in  favor  of 
upholding  inflexibly  the  public  credit  and  the 
national  faith : 

"The  remedy  for  our  financial  troubles,  Mr. 
Chairman,  will  not  be  found  in  a  superabundance 
of  depreciated  paper  currency.  It  lies  in  the 


REPRESENTA  TIVE  IN  CONGRESS.  I  I  5 

opposite  direction  ;  and  the  sooner  the  Nation  finds 
itself  on  a  specie  basis,  the  sooner  will  the  public 
Treasury  be  free  from  embarrassment,  and  private 
business  relieved  from  discouragement.  Instead, 
therefore,  of  entering-  upon  a  reckless  and  bound 
less  issue  of  legal  tenders,  with  their  consequent 
depression,  if  not  destruction  of  value,  let  us  set 
resolutely  to  work  and  make  those  already  in  cir 
culation  equal  to  so  many  gold  dollars.  When 
that  result  shall  be  accomplished,  we  can  proceed 
to  pay  our  five-twenties  either  in  coin  or  paper, 
for  the  one  would  be  the  equivalent  of  the  other. 
But  to  proceed  deliberately  on  a  scheme  of  de 
preciating  our  legal  tenders,  and  then  forcing  the 
holders  of  Government  bonds  to  accept  them  in 
payment,  would  resemble  in  point  of  honor  the 
policy  of  a  merchant  who,  with  abundant  resources 
and  prosperous  business,  should  devise  a  plan  for 
throwing  discredit  on  his  own  notes  with  the  view 
of  having  them  bought  up  at  a  discount  ruinous 
to  the  holders  and  immensely  profitable  to  his  own 
knavish  pocket.  This  comparison  may  faintly 
illustrate  the  wrongfulness  of  the  policy,  but  not 
its  consummate  folly  ;  for  in  the  case  of  the  Gov 
ernment,  unlike  the  merchant,  the  stern  necessity 
would  recur  of  making  good  in  the  end,  by  the 
payment  of  hard  coin,  all  the  discount  that  might 
be  gained  by  the  temporary  substitution  of  paper. 
"  Discarding  all  such  schemes  as  at  once  un 
worthy  and  unprofitable,  let  us  direct  our  policy 


Il6  JAMES  G.   ELAINE. 

steadily,  but  not  rashly,  toward  the  resumption  of 
specie  payment.  And  when  we  have  attained 
*Jiat  end — easily  attainable  at  no  distant  day  if  the 
proper  policy  be  pursued — we  can  all  unite  on 
some  honorable  plan  for  the  redemption  of  the 
five-twenty  bonds,  and  the  issuing  instead  thereof 
a  new  series  of  bonds  which  can  be  more  favor 
ably  placed  at  a  lower  rate  of  interest.  When 
we  shall  have  reached  the  specie  basis,  the  value 
of  the  United  States  securities  will  be  so  high  in 
*he  money  markets  of  the  world,  that  we  can 
Command  our  own  terms.  We  can  then  call  in 
rrr  five-twenties  according  to  the  very  letter  and 
\y-irit  of  the  bond,  and  adjust  a  new  loan  that  will 
l^  eagerly  sought  for  by  capitalists,  and  will  be 
Nee  from  those  elements  of  discontent,  that  in 
some  measure  surround  the  existing  funded  debt 
of  the  country." 

When  the  political  treason  of  President  John 
son  precipitated  a  bitter  conflict  between  him  and 
Congress,  Mr.  Elaine  stood  with  his  party  against 
the  Administration,  and  favored  the  impeachment 
of  the  President.  He  was  a  cordial  supporter 
of  the  Republican  National  Ticket  in  1868,  and 
;ifier  its  election  made,  on  December  10,  1868,  in 
the  House  of  Representatives,  the  following 
prophecy  and  pledge  of  loyalty  to  the  incoming 
Executive  : 

"  General  Grant's  Administration  will  have  high 
vantage  ground  from  the  day  of  its  inauguration. 


REPRESENTA  TIVE  IN  CONGRESS.  1 1 ; 

Its  responsibilities  will  indeed  be  great,  its  power 
will  be  large,  its  opportunities  will  be  splendid  ; 
and  to  meet  them  all  we  have  a  tried  and  true 
man,  who  adds  to  his  other  great  elements  of 
strength  that  of  perfect  trust  and  confidence  on 
the  part  of  the  people.  And  to  reassure  ourselves 
of  his  executive  character,  if  reassurance  were 
necessary,  let  us  remember  that  great  military 
leaders  have  uniformly  proved  the  wisest,  firmest 
and  best  of  civil  rulers.  Cromwell,  William  III., 
Charles  XII.,  Frederick  of  Prussia,  are  not  more 
conspicuous  instances  in  monarchical  governments 
than  Washington,  Jackson  and  Taylor  have  proved 
in  our  own.  Whatever,  therefore,  may  lie  before 
us  in  the  untrodden  and  often  beclouded  path  of 
the  future — whether  it  be  financial  embarrassment 
or  domestic  trouble  of  another  and  more  serious 
type,  or  misunderstandings  with  foreign  nations, 
or  the  extension  of  our  flag  and  our  sovereignty 
over  insular  or  continental  possessions,  North  or 
South,  that  fate  or  fortune  may  peacefully  offer  to 
our  ambition — let  us  believe  with  all  confidence 
that  General  Grant's  Administration  will  meet 
every  exigency,  with  the  courage,  the  ability  and 
the  conscience  which  American  nationality  and 
Christian  civilization  demand." 

Mr.  Elaine's  election  to  a  fourth  term  in  Con 
gress,  in  1868,  was  a  matter  of  course  and  was 
effected  by  a  majority  of  3,346.  When  the  new 
House  was  organized  on  March  4,  1869,  he  was 


Il8  JAMES   G.   J3LAINZ. 

the  unanimous  choice  of  the  Republican  members 
for  the  Speakership  and  was  promptly  elected  to 
it  by  135  votes  against  57  for  the  Hon.  Michael  C. 
Kerr,  of  Indiana,  the  Democratic  candidate.  Mr. 
Elaine  was  at  that  time  only  thirty-nine  years  old. 
But  he  had  already  shown  himself  the  possessor 
of  those  qualities  of  dignity,  firmness,  fairness, 
readiness  of  decision,  and  complete  knowledge  of 
parliamentary  law  and  practice  essential  for  the 
correct  performances  of  the  duties  of  that  respon 
sible  and  exalted  office.  On  taking  the  chair  he 
addressed  his  colleagues  in  the  following  terms  : 
"  I  thank  you  profoundly  for  the  great  honor 
which  you  have  just  conferred  upon  me.  The 
gratification  which  this  signal  mark  of  your  confi 
dence  brings  to  me  finds  its  only  drawback  in  the 
dihidence  with  which  I  assume  the  weighty  duties 
devolved  upon  me.  Succeeding  to  a  chair  made 
illustrious  by  the  services  of  such  eminent  states 
men  and  skilled  parliamentarians  as  Clay  and 
Stevenson,  and  Polk,  and  Winthrop,  and  Banks, 
and  Grow,  and  Colfax,  I  may  well  distrust  my 
ability  to  meet  the  just  expectations  of  those  who 
have  shown  me  such  marked  partiality.  But  relying, 
gentlemen,  on  my  honest  purpose  to  perform  all 
my  duties  faithfully  and  fearlessly,  and  trusting  in  a 
large  measure  to  the  indulgence  which  I  am  sure 
you  will  always  extend  to  me,  I  shall  hope  to  re 
tain,  as  I  have  secured,  your  confidence,  your 
kindly  regard  and  your  generous  support. 


REPRESENTA  TIVE  IN  CONGRESS.  I  I£ 

"  The  Forty- first  Congress  assembles  at  an  aus 
picious  period  in  the  history  of  our  government. 
The  splendid  and  impressive  ceremonial  which 
we  have  just  witnessed  in  another  part  of  the  capi- 
ol,  appropriately  symbolizes  the  triumphs  of  the 
past  and  the  hopes  of  the  future.  A  great  chief 
tain,  whose  sword,  at  the  head  of  gallant  and  vic 
torious  armies,  saved  the  Republic  from  dismem 
berment  and  ruin,  has  been  fitly  called  to  the 
highest  civic  honor  which  a  grateful  people  can 
bestow.  Sustained  by  a  Congress  that  so  ably 
represents  the  loyalty,  the  patriotism  and  the 
personal  worth  of  the  nation,  the  President  this 
day  inaugurated  will  assure  to  the  country  an 
administration  of  purity,  fidelity  and  prosperity  ; 
an  era  of  liberty  regulated  by  law,  and  of  law 
thoroughly  inspired  with  liberty. 

"  Congratulating  you,  gentlemen,  upon  the 
happy  auguries  of  the  day,  and  invoking  the 
gracious  blessing  of  Almighty  God  on  the  ardu 
ous  and  responsible  labors  before  you,  I  am  now 
ready  to  take  the  oath  of  office,  and  enter  upon 
the  discharge  of  the  duties  to  which  you  have 
called  me." 

His  performances  of  the  duties  of  the  Speaker- 
ship  amply  justified  the  expectations  and  the 
confidence  of  those  who  elected  him  to  the  office. 
It  was  a  period  when  political  feeling  ran  high  and 
when  the  post  of  presiding  officer  was  a  difficult 
one  to  fill  Mr.  Elaine  succeeded  in  giving 


120  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

entire  satisfaction  to  his  own  party,  and  at  the 
same  time  in  giving"  the  opposition  minority  no 
cause  to  complain.  At  the  end  of  his  two  years  of 
service,  his  old  opponent,  Mr.  Cox,  who  had  now 
become  a  representative  from  New  York,  offered 
the  following  resolution:  "In  view  of  the  diffi 
culties  involved  in  the  performance  of  the  duties 
of  the  presiding  officer  of  this  House,  and  of  the 
able,  courteous,  dignified  and  impartial  discharge 
of  those  duties  by  the  Hon.  J.  G.  Elaine,  during 
the  present  Congress,  it  is  eminently  becoming 
that  our  thanks  be,  and  they  hereby  are  tendered 
to  the  Speaker  thereof."  In  reply,  Mr.  Elaine 
said : 

"  Our  labors  are  at  an  end  ;  but  I  delay  the  final 
adjournment  long  enough  to  return  my  most  pro 
found  and  respectful  thanks  for  the  commendation 
which  you  have  been  pleased  to  bestow  upon  my 
official  course  and  conduct. 

"In  a  deliberative  body  of  this  character,  a 
presiding  officer  is  fortunate  if  he  retains  the 
confidence  and  steady  support  of  his  political 
associates.  Beyond  that,  you  give -me  the  assur 
ance  that  I  have  earned  the  respect  and  good-will 
of  those  from  whom  I  am  separated  by  party  lines. 
Your  expressions  are  most  grateful  to  me,  and  are 
most  gratefully  acknowledged. 

"The  Congress  whose  existence  closes  with 
this  hour  enjoys  a  memorable  distinction.  It  is  the 
first  in  which  all  the  States  have  been  represented 


REPRESENTA  TIVE  IN  CONGRESS.  \  2 1 

on  this  floor  since  the  baleful  winter  that  pre 
ceded  our  late  bloody  war.  Ten  years  have 
passed  since  then — years  of  trial  and  triumph  ; 
years  of  wild  destruction  and  years  of  careful  re 
building ;  and  after  all,  and  as  to  the  result  of  all. 
the  National  Government  is  here  to-day,  united, 
strong,  proud,  defiant  and  just,  with  a  territorial 
area  vastly  expanded,  and  with  three  additional 
States  represented  on  the  folds  of  its  flag.  For 
these  prosperous  fruits  of  our  great  struggle,  let 
us  humbly  give  thanks  to  the  God  of  battles  and 
to  the  Prince  of  Peace. 

"And  now,  gentlemen,  with  one  more  expres 
sion  of  the  obligation  I  feel  for  the  considerate 
kindness  with  which  you  have  always  sustained  me, 
I  perform  the  only  remaining  duty  of  my  office  in 
declaring,  as  I  now  do,  that  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  of  the  Forty-first  Congress  is  adjourned 
without  day." 

The  election  of  1870  sent  Mr.  Blaine  to  the 
House  for  a  fifth  term  by  a  majority  of  2,320,  and 
he  was  again  made  Speaker  by  the  unanimous 
vote  of  his  party  associates.  He  received  12^ 
votes  against  92  passed  for  George  W.  Morgan, 
the  Democratic  candidate.  His  words  on  taking 
the  chair  were  as  follows  : 

"  The  Speakership  of  the  American  House  of 
Representatives  has  always  been  esteemed  as  an 
enviable  honor.  A  re-election  to  the  position 
carries  with  it  peculiar  gratification,  in  that  it 


122  JAMES   G.    flLAIXE. 

implies  an  approval  of  past  official  bearing.  For 
this  great  mark  of  your  confidence  I  can  but  re 
turn  to  you  my  sincerest  thanks,  with  the  assur 
ance  of  my  utmost  devotion  to  the  duties  which 
you  call  upon  me  to  discharge. 

14  Chosen  by  the  party  representing  the  political 
majority  in  this  House,  the  Speaker  owes  a  faith 
ful  allegiance  to  the  principles  and  policy  of  that 
party.  But  he  will  fall  far  below  the  honorable 
requirements  of  his  station  if  he  fails  to  give  to 
the  minority  their  full  rights  under  the  rules  which 
he  is  called  upon  to  administer.  The  successful 
working  of  our  grand  system  of  government 
depends  largely  upon  the  vigilance  of  party 
organizations,  and  the  most  wholesome  legislation 
which  this  House  produces  and  perfects  is  that 
which  results  from  opposing  forces  mutually 
eager  and  watchful  and  well-nigh  balanced  in 
numbers. 

"The  Forty-second  Congress  assembles  at  a 
period  of  general  content,  happiness  and  pros 
perity  throughout  the  land.  Under  the  wise 
administration  of  the  National  Government  peace 
reigns  in  all  our  borders,  and  the  only  serious 
misunderstanding  with  any  foreign  power  is,  we 
may  hope,  at  this  moment  in  process  of  honor 
able,  cordial  and  lasting  adjustment.  We  are 
fortunate  in  meeting  at  such  a  time,  in  represent 
ing  such  constituencies,  in  legislating  for  such  a 
country. 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN  CONGRESS.  123 

"  Trusting,  gentlemen,  that  our  official  inter 
course  may  be  free  from  all  personal  asperity,  be 
lieving  that  all  our  labors  will  eventuate  for  the 
public  good,  and  craving  the  blessing  of  Him 
without  whose  aid  we  labor  in  vain,  I  am  now 
ready  to  proceed  with  the  further  organization 
of  the  House  ;  and,  as  the  first  step  thereto,  I  will 
myself  take  the  oath  prescribed  by  the  Constitu 
tion  and  laws." 

The  activities  of  Mr.  Elaine  were  by  no  means 
confined  to  the  Speaker's  chair.  He  could  not 
properly  go  upon  the  floor  of  the  House  to  take 
part  in  debate  and  in  shaping  legislation,  but  he 
was  still  a  leader  in  the  councils  of  his  party. 
Early  in  the  first  session^  of  the  Forty-second 
Congress  General  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  then  a 
Representative  from  Massachusetts,  made  a 
bitter  attack  upon  him  for  being  the  author 
of  a  resolution  just  introduced,  "providing  for 
an  investigation  into  alleged  outrages  perpe 
trated  upon  loyal  citizens  of  the  South."  Mr. 
Blaine  at  once  left  the  chair  and  made  reply, 
and  the  colloquy  that  followed  shows  well  his 
readiness  of  repartee  and  the  effective  manner  in 
which  he  dealt  with  his  opponents.  Mr.  Wheeler, 
of  New  York,  took  the  chair  temporarily  and 
Mr.  Blaine  said  : 

"  I  desire  to  ask  the  gentleman  from  Massachu 
setts  (Mr.  Butler)  whether  he  denies  to  me  the 
right  to  have  drawn  that  resolution  ?" 


124  JAMES   G.  ELAINE. 

Mr.  Butler. — I  have  made  no  assertion  on  that 
subject  one  way  or  the  other. 

Mr.  Elaine. — Did  not  the  gentleman  distinctly 
know  that  I  drew  it? 

Mr.   Butler. — No,  sir. 

Mr.  Blaine. — Did  I  not  take  it  to  the  gentle 
man  and  read  it  to  him  ? 

Mr.   Butler. — Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  Blaine. — Did  I  not  show  him  the  manu 
script  ? 

Mr.   Butler. — Yes,  sir. 

Mr.   Blaine. — In  my  own  handwriting  ? 

Mr.   Butler. — No,  sir. 

Mr.  Blaine. — And  at  his  suggestion  I  added 
these  words  :  "  And  the  expenses  of  said  com 
mittee  shall  be  paid  from  the  contingent  fund  of 
the  House  of  Representatives"  (applause),  and 
the  fact  that  ways  and  means  were  wanted 
to  pay  the  expenses  was  the  only  objection  he 
made  to  it. 

Mr.  Butler. — What  was  the  answer  the  gentle 
man  made  ?  I  suppose  I  may  ask  that,  now  that 
the  Speaker  has  come  upon  the  floor. 

Mr.  Blaine. — The  answer  was  that  I  imme 
diately  wrote  the  amendment  providing  for  the 
payment  of  the  expenses  of  the  committee. 

Mr.  Butler. — What  was  my  answer  ?  Was  it 
not  that  under  no  circumstances  would  I  have 
anything  to  do  with  it,  being  bound  by  the  action 
of  the  caucus  ? 


RE  PRESENTA  TIVE  IN  CONGRESS.  1 2  5 

Mr.  Blame. — No,  sir  ;  the  answer  was  that 
under  no  circumstances  would  you  serve  as  chair 
man. 

Mr.  Butler. — Or  have  anything  to  do  with  the 
resolution. 

Mr.  Blaine. — There  are  two  hundred  and 
twenty-four  members  of  the  House  of  Representa 
tives.  A  committee  of  thirteen  can  be  found 
without  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  being 
on  it.  His  service  is  not  essential  to  the  constitu 
tion  of  the  committee. 

Mr.  Butler. — Why  did  you  not  find  such  a 
committee,  then  ? 

Mr.  Blaine. — Because  I  knew  very  well  that  if 
I  omitted  the  appointment  of  the  gentleman  it 
would  be  heralded  throughout  the  length  and 
breadth  of  the  country,  by  the  claquers  who  have 
so  industriously  distributed  this  letter  this  morn 
ing,  that  the  Speaker  had  packed  the  committee, 
as  the  gentleman  said  he  would,  with  4<  weak- 
kneed  Republicans,"  who  would  not  go  into  an 
investigation  vigorously,  as  he  would.  That  was 
the  reason.  (Applause.)  So  that  the  Chair  laid 
the  responsibility  upon  the  gentleman  of  declin 
ing  the  appointment. 

Mr.  Butler. — I  knew  that  was  the  trick  of  the 
Chair. 

Mr.  Blaine. — Ah,  the  "  trick!"  We  now  know 
what  the  gentleman  meant  by  the  word  "  trick." 
I  ara  very  glad  to  know  the  "trick"  was  successful. 


126  JAMES   G.    BLAINE. 

Mr.  Butler. — No  doubt. 

Mr.  Elaine. — It  is  this  "  trick"  which  places  the 
gentleman  from  Massachusetts  on  his  responsibil 
ity  before  the  country. 

Mr.  Butler. — Exactly. 

Mr.  Blaine.— Wholly. 

Mr.  Butler.— Wholly. 

Mr.  Blaine. — Now,  sir,  the  gentleman  from 
Massachusetts  talks  about  the  coercion  by  which 
fifty-eight  Republicans  were  made  to  vote  for  the 
resolution.  I  do  not  know  what  any  one  of  them 
may  have  to  say,  but  if  there  be  here  to-day  a 
single  gentleman  who  has  given  to  the  gentleman 
of  Massachusetts  the  intimation  that  he  felt 
coerced — that  he  was  in  any  way  restrained  from 
free  action,  let  him  get  up  now  and  speak,  or 
forever  after  hold  his  peace. 

Mr.  Butler. — Oh,  yes. 

Mr.  Blaine. — The  gentleman  from  Massachu 
setts  says  :  "  Having  been  appointed  against  my 
wishes,  expressed  both  publicly  and  privately,  by 
the  Speaker,  as  chairman  of  a  committee  to 
investigate  the  state  of  affairs  in  the  South, 
ordered  to-day  by  Democratic  votes,  against  the 
most  earnest  protest  of  more  than  a  two-thirds 
majority  of  the  Republicans  of  the  House." 

Mr.  Butler. — Yes,  sir. 

Mr.  Blaine. — This  statement  is  so  bold  and 
groundless  that  I  do  not  know  what  reply  to  make 
to  it.  It  is  made  in  the  face  of  the  fact  that  on 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN  CONGRESS.  129 

the  roll-call  fifty-eight  Republicans  voted  f>r  the 
resolution,  and  lorty-nine,  besides  the  gentleman 
from  Massachusetts,  against  it.  I  deny  that  the 
gentleman  has  the  right  to  speak  for  any  member 
who  voted  for  it,  unless  it  may  be  the  member 
from  Tennessee  (Mr.  Maynard),  who  voted  for 
it,  for  the  purpose,  probably,  of  moving  a  recon 
sideration — a  very  common,  a  very  justifiable  and 
proper  course  whenever  any  gentleman  chooses 
to  adopt  it.  I  am  not  criticising  at  all.  But  if 
there  be  any  one  of  the  fifty-eight  gentlemen  who 
voted  for  the  resolution  under  coercion  I  would 
like  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  to  desig 
nate  him. 

Mr.  Butler. — I  am  not  here  to  retail  private 
conversations. 

Mr.  Blaine. — Oh,  no  ;  but  you  will  distribute 
throughout  the  entire  country  unfounded  calum 
nies  purporting  to  rest  upon  assertions  made  in 
private  conversations,  which,  when  called  for,  can 
not  be  verified. 

Mr.  Butler. — Pardon  me,  sir.  I  said  there  was 
a  caucus 

Mr.  Blaine. — I  hope  God  will  pardon  you  ;  but 
you  ought  not  to  ask  me  to  do  it !  (Laughter.) 

Mr.  Butler. — I  will  ask  God,  and  not  you. 

Mr.  Blaine. — I  am  glad  the  gentleman  will. 

Mr.  Butler. — I  have  no  favors  to  ask  of  the 
devil.  And  let  me  say  that  the  caucus  agreed 
upon  a  definite  mode  of  action. 


130  JAMES   G.   ELAINE, 

Mr.  Blaine. — The  caucus  !  Now,  let  me  say 
here  and  now,  that  the  Chairman  of  that  caucus, 
sitting  on  my  right,  "a  chevalier"  in  legislation, 
"  sans  pcur  et  sans  reproche"  the  gentleman  from 
Michigan  (Mr.  Austin  Blair)  stated,  as  a  man  of 
honor,  as  he  is,  that  he  was  bound  to  say  officially 
from  the  chair,  that  it  was  not  considered,  and 
could  not  be  considered  binding  upon  gentlemen. 
And  more  than  that.  Talk  about  tricks  !  Why, 
the  very  infamy  of  political  trickery  never  com 
passed  a  design  so  foolish  and  so  wicked  as  to 
bring  together  a  caucus,  and  attempt  to  pledge 
them  to  the  support  of  measures  which  might 
violate  not  only  the  political  principles,  but  the 
religious  faith  of  men — to  the  support  of  the  bill 
drawn  by  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts, 
which  might  violate  the  conscientious  scruples  of 
men.  And  yet,  forsooth,  he  comes  in  here  and 
declares  that  whatever  a  caucus  may  determine 
upon,  however  hastily,  however  crudely,  however 
wrongfully,  you  must  support  it !  Why,  even  in 
the  worst  days  of  the  Democracy,  when  the 
gentleman  himself  was  in  the  front  rank  of  the 
worst  wing  of  it,  when  was  it  ever  attempted  to 
say  that  a  majority  of  a  party  caucus  could  bind 
men  upon  measures  that  involved  questions  of 
constitutional  law,  of  personal  honor,  of  religious 
scruple  ?  The  gentleman  asked  what  would  have 
been  done —  he  asked  my  colleague  (Mr.  Peters) 
what  would  have  been  done  in  case  of  members 


K  A  /  Vv'  E  SENT  A  TIVE  IN  CONGRESS.  \  \  \ 

of  a  party  voting-  against  the  caucus  nominee  for 
Speaker.  I  understand  that  was  intended  as  a 
thrust  at  myself.  Caucus  nominations  of  officers 
have  always  been  held  as  binding.  But,  just  here, 
let  me  say,  that  if  a  minority  did  not  vote  against 
the  decision  of  the  caucus  that  nominated  me  for 
Speaker,  in  my  judgment  it  was  not  the  fault  of 
the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts.  (Applause.) 
If  the  requisite  number  could  have  been  found  to 
have  gone  over  to  the  despised  Nazarenes  on  the 
opposite  side,  that  gentleman  would  have  led 
them  as  gallantly  as  he  did  the  forces  in  the 
Charleston  Convention.  (Renewed  applause  and 
laughter.) 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  in  old  times,  it  was  the  ordi 
nary  habit  of  the  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  to  take  part  in  debate.  The  custom 
has  fallen  into  disuse.  For  one,  I  am  very 
glad  that  it  has.  For  one,  -I  approve  of  the 
conclusion  that  forbids  it.  The  Speaker  should, 
with  consistent  fidelity  to  his  own  party,  be  the 
impartial  administrator  of  the  rules  of  the  House, 
and  a  constant  participation  in  the  discussions  of 
members  would  take  from  him  that  appearance  of 
impartiality,  which  it  is  so  important  to  maintain 
in  the  rulings  of  the  Chair.  But  at  the  same  time 
I  despise  and  denounce  the  insolence  of  the 
gentleman  from  Massachusetts,  when  he  attempts 
to  say  that  the  Representative  from  the  Third 
District  of  the  State  of  Maine  has  no  right  to 


132  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

frame  a  resolution  ;  has  no  right  to  seek  that 
under  the  rules  that  resolution  shall  be  adopted  ; 
has  no  right  to  ask  judgment  of  the  House  upon 
that  resolution.  Why,  even  the  insolence  of  the 
gentleman  himself  never  reached  that  sublime 
height  before. 

o 

"Now,  Mr.  Speaker,  nobody  regrets  more 
sincerely  than  I  do,  any  occurrence  which  calls  me 
to  take  the  floor.  On  questions  of  propriety,  I 
appeal  to  members  on  both  sides  of  the  House, 
and  they  will  bear  witness,  that  the  circulation  of 
this  latter  in  the  morning  prints  ;  its  distribution 
throughout  the  land  by  telegraph  ;  the  laying  it 
upon  the  desks  of  members,  was  intended  to  be 
by  the  gentleman  from  Massachusetts,  not  openly 
and  boldly,  but  covertly — I  will  not  use  a  stronger 
phrase — an  insult  to  the  Speaker  of  this  House. 
As  such  I  resent  it.  I  denounce  it  in  all  its 
essential  statements,  and  in  all  its  misstatements, 
and  in  all  its  mean  inferences  and  meaner  innuen 
does.  I  denounce  the  letter  as  groundless,  with 
out  justification  ;  and  the  .gentleman  himself,  I 
trust,  will  live  to  see  the  day  when  he  will  be 
ashamed  of  having  written  it." 

At  the  close  of  this  Congress,  on  motion  of  the 
leader  of  the  Democratic  members,  Mr.  Elaine 
was  heartily  thanked  for  the  able  and  impartial 
manner  in  which  he  had  discharged  his  duties,  and 
responded  as  follows  : 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN  CONGRESS.  133 

<(  For  the  forty-second  time  since  the  Federal 
Government  was  organized,  its  great  representa 
tive  body  stands  on  the  eve  of  dissolution.  The 
final  word  which  separates  us  is  suspended  for  a 
moment,  that  I  may  return  my  sincere  thanks  for 
the  kind  expressions  respecting  my  official  con 
duct,  which,  without  division  of  party,  you  have 
caused  to  be  entered  on  your  journal. 

"  At  the  close  of  four  years'  service  in  this  re 
sponsible  and  often  trying  position,  it  is  a  source 
of  honorable  pride  that  I  have  so  administered  my 
trust  as  to  secure  the  confidence  and  approbation 
of  both  sides  of  the  House.  It  would  not  be 
strange  if,  in  the  necessarily  rapid  discharge  of 
the  daily  business,  I  should  have  erred  in  some  of 
the  decisions  made  on  points,  and  often  without 
precedent  to  guide  me.  It  has  been  my  good 
fortune,  however,  to  be  always  sustained  by  the 
House,  and  in  no  single  instance  to  have  had  a 
ruling  reversed.  I  advert  to  this  gratifying  fact, 
to  quote  the  language  of  the  most  eloquent  of  my 
predecessors,  '  in  no  vain  spirit  of  exaltation,  but 
as  furnishing  a  powerful  motive  for  undissembled 
gratitude.' 

11  And  now,  gentlemen,  with  a  hearty  God  bless 
you  all,  I  discharge  my  only  remaining  duty  in  de 
claring  that  the  House  of  Representatives  for  the 
Forty-second  Congress  is  adjourned  without  day." 

There  was,  in  187 2,  a  considerable  secession  from 
the  ranks  of  the  Republican  party,  many  of  its 


134  JAto~S  G.  BLAItfh. 

members,  styling  themselves  Liberal  Republicans, 
forming  a  fusion  with  the  Democrats.  Mt.  Elaine 
discountenanced  this  movement  and  stood  by  the 
old  party,  and  was  re-elected  to  Congress  for  a 
sixth  term  by  3,568  majority.  Again  he  was  the 
choice  of  his  party  for  the  Speakership,  and  was 
elected  to  that  office  for  the  third  time,  receiving 
189  votes  against  80  cast  for  all  others.  His  ad 
dress  at  the  beginning  of  the  third  term  of  his 
Speakership  wras  as  follows  : 

"The  vote  this  moment  announced  by  the  clerk 
is  such  an  expression  of  your  confidence  as  calls 
for  my  sincerest  thanks.  To  be  chosen  Speaker 
of  the  American  House  of  Representatives  is  al 
ways  an  honorable  distinction  ;  to  be  chosen  a 
third  time  enhances  the  honor  more  than  three 
fold  ;  to  be  chosen  by  the  largest  body  that  ever 
assembled  in  the  capitol  imposes  a  burden  of 
responsibility  wnich  only  your  indulgent  kindness 
cr>vild  embolden  me  to  assume. 

"The  first  occupant  of  this  chair  presided  over 
a  House  of  sixty-five  members,  representing  a 
population  far  below  the  present  aggregate  of  the 
State  of  New  York.  At  that  time  in  the  whole 
U  nited  States  there  were  not  fifty  thousand  civilized 
inhabitants  to  be  found  one  hundred  miles  dis 
tant  from  the  flow  of  the  Atlantic  tide.  To-day, 
gentlemen,  a  large  body  of  you  come  from  beyond 
that  limit,  and  represent  districts  then,  peopled 
only  by  the  Indian  and  adventurous  frontiersman. 


REPKESENTA  TIVE  IK  CONGRESS.  1 3  $ 

The  National  Government  is  not  yet  as  old  as 
many  of  its  citizens  ;  but  in  this  brief  span  of  time, 
less  than  one  lengthened  life,  it  has,  under  God's 
providence,  extended  its  power  until  a  continent 
is  the  field  of  its  empire  and  attests  the  majesty 
of  its  law. 

"  With  the  growth  of  new  States  and  the  re 
sulting  changes  in  the  centres  of  population,  new 
interests  are  developed,  rival  to  the  old,  but  by 
no  means  hostile,  diverse  but  not  antagonistic. 
Nay,  rather  are  all  these  interests  in  harmony  ; 
and  the  true  science  of  just  government  is  to  give 
to  each  its  full  and  fair  play,  oppressing  none  by 
undue  exaction,  favoring  none  by  undue  privi 
lege.  It  is  this  great  lesson  which  our  daily 
experience  is  teaching  us,  binding  us  together 
more  closely,  making  our  mutual  dependence 
more  manifest,  and  causing  us  to  feel,  whether 
we  live  in  the  North  or  in  the  South,  in  the  East 
or  in  the  West,  that  we  have  indeed  but  '  one 
country,  one  Constitution,  one  destiny.  ' 

Two  notable  incidents  marked  the  record  of 
this  Congress,  especially  affecting  Mr.  Elaine. 
One  was  the  famous  bill  increasing  the  salaries 

o 

of  the  President,  Members  of  Congress  and 
others.  It  has  been,  not  unjustly,  termed  the 
''salary- grab"  bill,  since  by  its  adoption  the  very 
men  who  enacted  it  voted  to  themselves  an 
increase  of  pay  for  the  terms  of  office  they  were 
then  occupying.  Mr.  Elaine  looked  upon  this 


136  JAMES  G.  &LAINE. 

with  great  disfavor.  Asking  permission  to  make 
a  personal  statement  concerning  a  certain  amend 
ment  to  it,  he  said:  ''The  Chair  presumes  the 
language  of  this  amendment  would  make  the 
Speaker's  salary  $10,000  for  this  Congress.  The 
salary  of  the  Speaker,  the  last  time  the  question 
of  pay  was  under  consideration,  was  adjusted  to 
that  of  the  Vicc-President  and  members  of  the 
Cabinet.  The  Chair  thinks  that  adjustment 
should  not  be  disturbed,  and  the  question  which 
he  now  raises  does  not  affect  the  pay  of  other 
members  of  the  House.  He  asks  unanimous 
consent  to  put  in  the  word  'hereafter,'  to  follow 
the  words  'shall  receive.'  This  will  affect  who 
ever  shall  be  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives  hereafter,  and  does  not  affect  the 
Speaker  of  this  House."  This  bill  was  repealed 
at  the  next  session,  the  repeal  being  carried  by 
the  deciding  vote  of  the  Speaker. 

At  the  close  of  this  Congress  it  was  known 
that  Mr.  Elaine  would  not  again  occupy  the 
Speaker's  chair,  since  an  overwhelming  Demo 
cratic  majority  had  been  elected  for  the  next 
House.  A  resolution  cordially  thanking  him  for 
his  conduct  in  the  chair  was  unanimously  adopted, 
on  motion  of  Mr.  Potter,  Democrat,  of  New 
York,  and  Mr.  Blaine  made  the  following  farewell 
address  on  leaving  the  position  he  had  filled  with 
such  distinguished  ability  for  the  unusually  long 
term  of  six  years  : 


REPRESENTA  TIVE  Itf  CONGRESS.  \  3  7 

"I  close  with  this  hour  a  six  years'  service  as 
Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives — a 
period  surpassed  in  length  by  but  two  of  my 
predecessors,  and  equalled  by  only  two  others. 
The  rapid  mutations  of  personal  and  political 
fortunes  in  this  country  have  limited  the  great 
majority  of  those  who  have  occupied  this  chair 
to  shorter  terms  of  office. 

"  It  would  be  the  gravest  insensibility  to  the  hon 
ors  and  responsibilities  of  life,  not  to  be  deeply 
touched  by  so  signal  a  mark  of  public  esteem  as 
that  which  I  have  thrice  received  at  the  hands  of 
my  political  associates.  I  desire  in  this  last 
moment  to  renew  to  them,  one  and  all,  my  thanks 
and  my  gratitude. 

"To  those  from  whom  I  differ  in  my  party 
relations — the  minority  of  this  House— I  tender 
my  acknowledgments  for  the  generous  courtesy 
with  which  they  have  treated  me.  By  one  of 
those  sudden  and  decisive  changes  which  distin 
guish  popular  institutions,  and  which  conspicuously 
mark  a  free  people,  that  minority  is  transformed 
in  the  ensuing  Congress  to  the  governing  power 
of  the  House.  However  it  might  possibly  have 
been  under  other  circumstances,  that  event  ren 
ders  these  words  my  farewell  to  the  Chair. 

"The  Speakership  of  the  American  House  of 
Representatives  is  a  post  of  honor,  of  dignity,  of 
power,  of  responsibility.  Its  duties  are  at.  once 
complex  and  continuous  ;  they  are  both  onerous 


138  JAMES  G.   BLAINE. 

and  delicate  ;  they  are  performed  in  the  broad 
light  of  day,  under  the  eye  of  the  whole  people, 
subject  at  all  times  to  the  closest  observation,  and 
always  attended  with  the  sharpest  criticism.  I 
think  no  other  official  is  held  to  such  instant  and 
such  rigid  accountability.  Parliamentary  rulings 
in  their  very  nature  are  peremptory  ;  almost  ab 
solute  in  authority  and  instantaneous  in  effect. 
They  cannot  always  be  enforced  in  such  a  way  as 
to  win  applause  or  secure  popularity,  but  I  am 
sure  that  no  man  of  any  party  who  is  worthy  to 
fill  this  chair  will  ever  see  a  dividing  line  between 

o 

duty  and  policy. 

"  Thanking  you  once  more,  and  thanking  you 
most  cordially  for  the  honorable  testimonial  you 
have  placed  on  record  to  my  credit,  I  perform  my 
only  remaining  duty  in  declaring  that  the  Forty- 
third  Congress  has  reached  its  constitutional 
limit,  and  that  the  House  of  Representatives 
stands  adjourned  without  day." 

As  the  Speaker  closed  his  address  and  walked 
down  from  the  chair,  says  a  newspaper  observer, 
an  outburst  of  handclapping  and  cheers  broke 
from  the  upstanding  members,  and  was  joined  in 
by  the  immense  assemblage  on  the  floor  and  in 
the  galleries.  Never  before  was  witnessed  such 
a  scene  at  the  close  of  a  Congress. 

The  elections  of  1874  amounted  to  a  political 
revolution,  the  Democratic  party  gaining  control  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  by  an  overwhelming 


KEPRESENTA  TIVE  IN  CONGRESS.  1 39 

majority.  Thereupon  Mr.  Elaine,  who  had 
b  :cn  elected  for  a  seventh  term  by  a  majority 
of  2,830,  became  the  leader  of  the  Republican 
minority  on  the  floor,  and  showed  himself  one  of 
the  most  brilliant  and  effective  leaders  ever  pos 
sessed  by  a  minority  party.  The  two  leading 
incidents  of  his  career  in  this  Congress  must  be 
separately  considered.  It  will  here  be  necessary 
only  to  refer  to  his  effort,  in  1875  and  1876,  to 
secure  the  adoption  of  the  following  amendment 
to  the  Constitution  :  "  No  State  shall  make  any 
law  respecting  an  establishment  of  religion,  or 
prohibiting  the  free  exercise  thereof;  and  no 
money  raised  by  taxation  in  any  State  for  the 
support  of  public  schools,  or  derived  from  any 
public  fund  therefor,  nor  any  public  lands  devoted 
thereto,  shall  ever  be  under  the  control  of  any 
religious  sect  ;  nor  shall  any  money  so  raised  or 
lands  so  devoted  be  divided  between  religious 
sects  or  denominations."  Mr.  Elaine,  in  publk 
and  in  private,  strongly  urged  the  adoption  of  this 
measure,  but  did  not  succeed. 

His  career  as  a  Representative  in  Congress 
came  to  an  end  in  June,  1876,  when  he  was 
appointed  to  fill  an  unexpired  term  in  the  United 
States  Senate.  As  his  own  expression  of  the 
principles  that  governed  him  on  great  questions  of 
public  policy  during  his  career  in  the  House,  the 
following  quotation  may  well  be  made.  It  is 
taken  from  the  letter  written  by  him  on  July  3, 


140  JAMES  G. 

1874,  accepting  the  nomination  for  his  seventh  and 
last  term  in  Congress.  In  this  letter  Mr.  Elaine 
wrote  : 

"The  resolutions  to  which  you  invite  my  at 
tention  are  so  generally  acceptable  to  the  people 
of  the  district  that  no  issue  will  be  made  on  the 
matters  embraced  in  them.  The  currency  ques 
tion  at  one  time  threatening  to  divide  parties,  and 
what  would  be  far  more  serious,  to  divide  sections, 
is  in  process  of  a  happy  adjustment,  partly  by  wise 
and  temperate  enactment  passed  by  a  large 
majority  in  both  branches  of  Congress  and  ap 
proved  by  the  President,  but  in  a  far  greater  de 
gree  by  the  operation  of  causes  more  powerful 
than  any  legislation  can  be.  In  these  remarks  I 
am,  indeed,  but  repeating,  in  substance,  the  reso 
lutions  of  your  Convention,  and  I  gladly  adopt 
as  my  own  the  leading  declaration  of  the  series  that 
'  it  is  the  imperative  duty  of  the  National  Govern 
ment  to  return  to  specie  payment  as  soon  as  wise 
statesmanship  can  safely  reach  that  result.' 

"  But  while  our  political  opponents  in  Maine 
will  not  seriously  contest  any  position  taken  by 
us,  they  have  themselves  chosen  to  raise  another 
issue  on  which  we  will  not  be  slow  to  differ  from 
them.  The  Democratic  State  Convention,  in  re- 
nominating  their  respectable  candidate  for  Gov 
ernor,  adopted  with  suggestive  unanimity  the  fol 
lowing  resolution  as  the  leading  article  in  their 
revised  political  creed : 


REPRESENTA  TI VE  IN  CONGRESS.  \  4 1 

"  'Resolved,  That  a  Protective  Tariff  is  a  most 
unjust,  unequal,  oppressive  and  wasteful  mode  of 
raising  the  public  revenues.  It  is  one  of  the  most 
pregnant  and  fruitful  sources  of  the  corruptions  in 
administration.  We  therefore,  the  democracy  of 
Maine,  in  Convention  assembled,  declare  for 
Free  Trade,  and  in  favor  of  an  unfettered  and 
unrestricted  commerce.' 

"This  advanced  position,  now  formally  and 
boldly  taken  by  the  Maine  Democracy,  in  their 
State  Convention,  receives  additional  point  and 
meaning  by  the  letter  of  their  gubernatorial 
candidate,  Mr.  Titcomb,  who  in  accepting  the 
nomination  specially  approves  the  foregoing  reso 
lution,  and  intimates  his  endurance  of  the  lowest 
form  of  Revenue  Tariff,  only  *  until  we  shall  be 
educated  up  to  the  idea  of  equal,  direct,  and 
therefore  moderate  taxation  for  the  support  of 
Government,  and  until  this  idea  shall  be  brought 
info  practical  operation.'  I  have  quoted  Mr. 
Titcomb's  own  words,  and  it  is  quite  evident  that 
the  startling  dogma  to  which  he  commits  himself, 
is  in  sympathy  with  more  impressive  movements 
to  be  made  elsewhere  in  the  same  direction,  and 
is  first  thrown  out  in  Maine  as  an  experiment  on 
public  opinion.  If  there  were  the  slightest  dan 
ger  of  the  Democratic  party,  with  this  avowed 
policy,  coming  into  power,  the  dangers  ahead 
would  be  truly  appalling ;  but  as  no  such  calamity 
impends,  we  may  be  allowed  to  examine  with 


142  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

more  coolness  the  wild  absurdity  of  the  proposi 
tion. 

"  You  will  observe  that  the  issue  proposed  is 
not  the  old  and  familiar  one  between  those  who 
advocate  a  Tariff  for  Protection,  and  those  who 
wish  duties  imposed  only  for  Revenue.  That 
is  an  issue  as  old  as  the  levying  of  imposts,  and, 
with  occasional  exceptions,  has  been  determined 
largely  by  latitude  and  longitude,  or  by  the  differ 
ing  interests  which  change  of  section  and  varying 
forms,  of  industry  have  developed.  But  the 
Maine  Democracy  assumes  that  all  Tariffs  are 
more  or  less  Protective,  and  hence  they  are  hostile 
to  them,  and  pronounce  for  'Free  Trade,'  pure 
and  simple,  absolute  and  without  qualification,  or 
to  quote  their  own  words,  for  '  an  unfettered  and 
unrestricted  commerce.' 

"  Without  attempting  to  argue  the  question  in  its 
relation  to  the  whole  country,  let  us  see  how  this 
new  doctrine  would  affect  Maine.  The  process 
would  be  simple,  the  results  readily  deduced, 
the  effect  blighting  and  disastrous  to  the  last  de 
gree.  For  some  years  past,  to  deal  in  round 
numbers,  the  Federal  Government  has  been 
collecting  a  revenue  of  three  hundred  millions 
of  dollars — one-third  from  internal  taxes,  two- 
thirds  from  tariff  duties.  It  is  now  proposed 
by  the  Maine  Democracy  to  abolish  all  these 
duties,  have  absolute  'Free  Trade'  with  an 
'unfettered  and  unrestricted  commerce.'  In 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN  CONGRESS.  143 

other  words,  the  Maine  Democracy  propose  to 
raise  the  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars  in  gold 
coin,  now  obtained  from  tariff  duties,  by  '  direct 
taxation,'  or  by  a  system  of  'excises'  which 
might  prove  even  more  oppressive  than  direct 
taxation  itself.  There  is  no  other  mode  open 
under  the  Constitution  by  which  the  money  can 
be  raised  than  the  two  named,  if  the  tariff  be 
abandoned,  and  Mr.  Titcomb  declares  for  direct 
taxation.  Now  if  the  money  is  to  be  secured  by 
direct  taxation,  as  Mr.  Titcomb  proposes,  it 
will  be  found  to  be  Maine's  great  misfortune, 
that  the  Constitution  requires  the  tax  to  be 
levied  in  proportion  to  population  and  not  ac 
cording  to  wealth.  By  the  ninth  census,  Maine 
has  about  one-sixtieth  of  the  total  population  of 
United  States,  and  her  share  of  two  hundred 
millions  of  direct  taxation  would  be  something 
over  three  and  a  quarter  millions  of  dollars  in 
gold  coin — the  •  single  Congressional  District 
whose  constituents  I  am  addressing,  would  be 
called  upon  for  seven  hundred  thousand  dollars. 
The  peculiar  hardship  of  raising  taxes  in  this  way 
is  made  manifest  by  the  simple  fact  that  Maine 
would  be  compelled  to  pay  nearly  one-half  as 
much  as  Massachusetts,  while  in  fact  she  has  but 
one-seventh  of  the  wealth  of  that  highly-favored 
and  prosperous  Commonwealth.  To  properly 
estimate  the  exhausting  and  oppressive  nature  of 
this  enormous  tax,  you  have  but  to  consider 


144  JAMES  G.   ELAINE. 

that  it  would  be  three  times  as  large  as  the  pres 
ent  State  tax,  and  would  necessarily  be  levied  in 
addition  thereto. 

"  But  if  against  Mr.  Titcomb's  policy  the  direct 
tax  were  avoided,  it  would  be  necessary  to  have 
instead  of  it  a  system  of  excises  as  onerous  and 
as  odious  as  human  ingenuity  could  devise.  A 
heavy  internal  tax  would  inevitably  be  levied  on 
all  manufactures  and  indeed  upon  all  the  pro 
ducts  of  the  field  and  the  forest,  the  shipyard  and 
the  quarry  ;  and  every  form  of  industry  would  be 
burdened  and  borne  down  by  the  exactions  of  the 
tax-gatherer.  And  these  grievous  hardships 
would  be  imposed  on  our  own  people,  in  order 
that  foreign  countries  might  have  the  benefit  of 
our  markets  for  their  products,  without  duty  and 
without  tax.  Our  lumber  interests,  embarrassed 
and  oppressed,  would  have  to  compete  with  the 
untaxed  products  of  the  Canadian  forest ;  our 
manufactures  would  pay  taxes  *  for  the  benefit 
of  European  fabrics  ;  our  ship-building  would 
be  destroyed  by  the  taxation,  which  would  ren 
der  it  incapable  of  competing  with  provincial 
bottoms,  and  under  the  magic  spell  of  Dem 
ocratic  free  trade  our  coasting  and  lake 
commerce,  confined  to  our  own  people  since  the 
foundation  of  the  government,  would  be  thrown 
open  to  the  whole  world.  Taxation  in  all  forms 
is  one  of  the  burdens  of  civilization,  but  instead  of 
ameliorating  its  seventy  and,  if  possible,  getting 


ffr 


ROSCOE  CONKLING. 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN  CONGRESS.  147 

from  it  such  compensating  advantages  as  wise 
legislation  can  provide,  our  Maine  Democrats 
propose  to  make  it  to  the  last  degree  oppressive 
to  our  own  people  and  beneficial  only  to  the  alien 
and  the  stranger. 

"To  the  people  of  Maine,  at  this  very  moment, 
these  extravagant  declarations  of  the  Democratic 
party  have  a  painful  significance,  for  it  is  well 
known  that  the  authorities  of  Canada  are  trying 
to  negotiate  with  our  government  a  reciprocity 
treaty,  which,  like  its  illustrious  predecessor  and 
namesake,  maintains  the  reciprocity  all  oil  one 
side.  The  treaty  of  that  name,  which  was  termi 
nated  in  1866,  was  cruelly  oppressive  to  the 
people  of  Maine,  and  inflicted  upon  our  State, 
during  the  eleven  years  of  its  existence,  a  loss  of 
fifty  millions  of  dollars.  It  presented  the  very 
singular  anomaly  of  giving  to  the  Canadians  the 
control  in  our  own  markets  of  certain  leading  ar 
ticles,  on  terms  far  more  favorable  than  our  own 
people  had  ever  enjoyed.  The  utmost  stretch  of 
the  Divine  command  is  to  love  our  neighbor  as 
ourselves,  and  I  can  certainly  see  nothing  in  per 
sonal  duty  or  public  policy  which  should  lead  us 
to  prefer  our  Canadian  neighbors  to  our  own 
people. 

"The  treaty  of  reciprocity,  now  proposed,  is 
understood  to  embrace  the  admission  of  Canadian 
vessels  to  free  American  Registry,  and  the  full  en 
joyment  of  our  coasting  and  lake  trade.  Thus 


I4<S  JAMES   G.   BLA1NE. 

the  ship-building  and  commercial  interests  of  the 
United  States,  reviving  so  prosperously  of  late, 
and  just  recovering  from  the  terrible  blows  dealt 
by  British-built  cruisers  during  the  war,  are  again 
to  be  struck  down  by  giving  advantages,  hitherto 
undreamed  of,  to  the  ships  of  the  very  power 
that  inflicted  the  previous  injury.  And  the  Dem 
ocratic  party  of  Maine  have  pledged  themselves, 
in  their  State  Convention,  to  the  policy  that  in 
cludes  this  disastrous  attack  upon  the  interests  of 
our  State,  and  their  candidate  for  Governor  has 
fully  committed  himself  to  the  extreme  doctrine 
announced  by  the  Convention. 

"The  form  of  Reciprocity  proposed  by  the 
Government  of  the  Dominion  of  Canada  lacks 
every  element  of  the  seductive  title,  by  which  it 
is  sought  to.  commend  it  to  our  people.  What  is 
it  ?  Why,  simply  this  :  That  if  the  United  States 
will  agree  to  admit  certain  Canadian  products  free 
of  duty,  Canada  in  turn  will  agree  to  admit  cer 
tain  American  fabrics  free  of  duty.  But  the  class 
of  men  to  be  benefited,  and  the  class  to  be  in 
jured,  in  the  United  States,  are  entirely  distinct 
and  separate,  having  nothing  in  common,  either 
in  1  ^cality,  industry  or  investment.  To  compen 
sate  the  surrender  of  ons  interest  in  this  way  by 
the  advancement  of  another,  has  no  more  element 
of  reciprocal  justice  in  it,  than  for  A  to  take  a 
pair  of  horses  from  B,  because  C  took  possession 
of  a  yoke  of  oxen  belonging  to  D.  To  illustrate  : 


REPRESENTATIVE  IN  CONGRESS.  149 

If  the  United  States  will  agree  to  admit  Canadian 
vessels  to  American  Registry  and  the  coasting- 
trade,  Canada  will  admit  straw  hats,  mule  harness, 
and  rat-traps,  free  of  duty.  In  this  you  will  ob 
serve  that  Canada  gets  the  full  advantage  both 
ways,  while  the  United  States,  for  a  possible  en 
largement  of  petty  trade,  consents  to  subordinate 
and  sacrifice  an  interest  that  represents  our^dis- 
tinctive  nationality,  in  all  climes  and  upon  all  seas  ; 
an  interest  that  has  given  more  and  asked  less  of 
the  Government  than  any  other  of  similar  magni 
tude  ;  an  interest,  more  essentially  American,  in 
the  highest  and  best  sense,  than  any  other  which 
falls  under  the  legislative  power  of  the  Govern 
ment,  and  which  asks  only  to-day,  to  be  left  where 
the  founders  of  the  Republic  placed  it  nearly  a 
century  ago. 

"  Against  the  whole  policy  of  adjusting  Revenue 
questions  by  the  Treaty-making  power,  I  desire  to 
enter,  on  behalf  of  my  constituents,  an  emphatic 
protest.  The  Constitution  gives  to  the  House  .of 
Representatives  the  sole  and  exclusive  right  to 
originate  Bills  of  Revenue,  and- this  great  power 
should  be  kept  where  it  can  be  controlled  by  the 
direct  vote  of  the  people  every  two  years  It  may 
very  well  be  that  sundry  articles  of  Canadian 
product  should  be  admitted  free,  or  with  diminished 
duty  ;  it  may  well  be,  also,  that  Canada  would  find 
it  advantageous  to  admit  certain  articles  from  us 
free  of  duty.  Let  each  country  decide  the 


150  JAMES   G.   BLAINE, 

question  for  itself  independently,  and  avoid  the 
'log-rolling'  feature  of  a  Treaty,  in  which  it  will 
inevitably  happen  that  certain  interests  will  be 
sacrificed  in  order  that  others  may  be  promoted. 
Let  us  simply  place  Canada  on  the  same  basis 
with  other  foreign  countries — taxing  her  products, 
or  admitting  them  free,  according  to  our  own 
judgment  of  the  interest  of  our  Revenue,  and 
the  pursuits  and  needs  of  our  people— always 
bearing  in  mind,  that  in  Governmental,  as  in 
family  matters,  'charity  begins  at  home,'  and  that 
*  he  who  provideth  not  for  those  of  his  own  house, 
is  worse  than  an  infidel.'  ' 


CHAPTER  VI. 

FIGHTING  THE  SOUTHERN  LEADERS. 

The  Debate  on  the  Proposal  to  Restore  Jefferson  Davis  to  Full  Citizenship 
— Action  by  the  Forty-third  and  Foity-fourth  Congresses — A  Powerful 
Speech  by  Benjamin  H.  Hill,  of  Georgia — Mr.  Elaine's  Reply — The 
Incident  that  Gave  Him  the  Title  of  "  the  Plumed  Knight." 

In  the  Forty-third  Congress,  the  House  COITK 
mittee  on  Rules,  of  which  Mr.  Elaine  was  Chain 
man,  reported  a  General  Amnesty  bill  so  com 
prehensive  and  generous  that  even  Jefferson 
Davis,  the -ex-President  of  the  Rebel  Confederacy, 
was  included  within  the  scope  of  its  benevolence ; 
and  the  House,  of  which  Mr.  Elaine  was  Speaker, 
adopted  it  almost  unanimously  without  the  for- 
mality  of  a  roll-call.  In  the  House  of  Representa 
tives  of  the  next  Congress,  the  Hon.  Michael  C. 
Kerr,  a  Democrat,  was  Speaker;  the  Hon.  Samuel 
J.  Randall  was  the  Democratic  leader  on  the 
floor  of  the  House ;  and  Mr.  Elaine  was  the 
leader  of  the  Republican  minority.  The  question 
of  amnesty  again  came  up,  in  January,  1876,  the 
chief  point  at  issue  being  whether  Jefferson  Davis 
should  be  restored  to  all  the  rights  of  citizenship, 
or  should,  alone  of  all  the  ex-rebels,  be  denied 
such  favor. 


I«JB  JAMES    o\    BLA1NE 

The  debate  that  ensued  was  fierce  and  bitter  in 
an  extreme  degree.  The  War  of  the  Rebellion 
was  fought  over  again,  in  words.  The  infamies 
of  the  Southern  prison-pens,  in  which  captive 
Northern  troops  were  starved  and  murdered, 
formed,  a  conspicuous  theme.  Among  the  leaders 
of  debate  on  the  Democratic  side  was  the  Hon. 
Benjamin  H.  Hill,  of  Georgia,  who  had  been  op 
posed  to  secession  before  the  war,  but  had  quickly 
joined  the  movement  when  once  it  actually  begun, 
and  had  been  thereafter  one  of  the  foremost 
spirits  of  the  Confederacy.  On  January  n,  1876, 
he  made  a  powerful  and  eloquent  address  in  the 
House,  especially  on  the  subject  of  Anderson- 
ville,  in  which  he  defended  the  Confederate 
authorities  against  the  charges  of  cruelty  that  had 
been  made,  and  actually  declared  that  the  United 
States  Government  was  responsible  for  what  its 
captive  soldiers  suffered  in  that  prison.  Two  days 
later,  Mr.  Elaine  made  reply.  It  was  the  culmi 
nating  point  of  the  debate,  and  the  interest  of  the 
House,  and  of  the  whole  Nation,  was  at  the  high 
est  tension. 

It  was  this  speech  that  impelled  Colonel  R.  G. 
Ingersoll,  a  few  months  later,  to  fix  upon  Mr. 
Elaine  the  title  of  "the  Plumed  Knight."  An 
other  observer  likened  him  to  a  gladiator  in  the 
midst  of  an  arena.  "  He  taunted  and  worried 
his  enemies  until  he  provoked  them  to  strike,  and 
then  sprang  upon  them  and  tore  them  to  pieces." 


rIGHTING   THE  SOUTHERN  LEADERS.  153 

In  Mr.  Hill  he  had  a  mighty  antagonist ;  but  he 
utterly  vanquished  him,  and  hopelessly  destroyed 
his  prospects  of  gaining  the  Democratic  leader 
ship.  The  text  of  this  speech,  one  of  the  most 
noteworthy  ever  made  in  the  House  of  Repre 
sentatives,  is  as  follows  : 

"MR.  SPEAKER:  Before  proceeding  with  the 
remark  which  I  shall  address  to  the  questions  be- 
fo  -e  the  House,  I  desire  to  say  that  in  the  dis 
cussion  on  the  point  of  order  that  was  raised  just 
prior  to  the  adjournment'  last  evening,  I  did  not 
intxMid  to  be;  understood,  and  hope  no  gentleman 
understood  me,  as  implying  that  the  honorable 
Speaker  intended  in  any  way  to  deprive  me  of  the 
right  to  speak.  I  did  not  so  understand  the 
Speaker,  nor  did  I  understand  it  to  be  the  motive 
or  object  of  the  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania 
(Mr.  Randall).  I  say  this  much  in  justice  to  my 
self  and  in  justice  to  the  honorable  incumbent  of 
the  chair. 

"  From  the  tone  of  the  debate  on  the  oppo 
site  side  of  the  chamber,  Mr.  Speaker,  one 
would  certainly  imagine  that  the  Republican 
party,  as  represented  in  Congress,  was  trying 
to  inflict  some  new  punishment  or  add  some 
fresh  stigma  to  the  name  of  Jefferson  Davis,  as 
well,  indeed,  as  to  lay  some  additional  burden 
on  those  other  citizens  of  the  South  who  are 
not  yet  fully  amnestied.  It  may  therefore  not 
bz  unprofitable  just  to  recall  to  the  attention  of 


154  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

the  House  the  precise  question  at  issue,  and 
how  it  came  here,  and  who  it  was  that  brought 
it  here. 

"  The  gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  introduced 
a  bill  to  confer  special  honor  on  Jefferson  Davis  ; 
for  what  honor  can  be  higher  than  the  full 
panoplied  citizenship  of  the  United  States  of 
America  ?  He  has  lost  it  by  his  crime,  and  the 
gentleman  from  Pennsylvania  proposes  in  hot 
haste,  without  debate,  without  amendment,  to 
drag  every  gentleman  up  to  say  '  Aye  '  or  *  No  ' 
upon  a  bill  declaring  him  to  be  entitled  now  and 
henceforth  to  all  the  rights  and  all  the  honors  of 
American  citizenship.  From  that  we  dissent. 
"We  did  not  bring  the  question  here.  We  are  not 
seeking  to  throw  any  fresh  element  of  an  in 
flammatory  kind  into  any  discussion  or  differ 
ence  that  may  be  between  two  parties  or  two 
sections,  and  whatever  of  that  kind  has  grown 
from  this  discussion  lies  at  the  door  of  the  gentle 
man  from  Pennsylvania  and  those  who  stand 
with  him. 

"  Remember,  Mr.  Speaker,  it  is  no  proposition 
to  punish,  but  a  proposition  to  honor,  and  while 
we  disclaim  any  intention  or  desire  to  punish 
Jefferson  Davis,  we  resist  the  proposition  to 
honor  him.  And  right  here,  as  a  preliminary 
matter,  I  desire  to  address  myself  for  a  moment 
to  the  constitutional  point  suggested  by  the 
honorable  gentleman  from  Massachusetts  (Mr. 


FIGHTING  THE  SOUTHERN  LEADERS.  155 

Seelye),  who  addressed  the  House  last  evening. 
He  sees  and  appreciates  the  magnitude  of  the 
crime  laid  at  the  door  of  Jefferson  Davis,  and  he 
clearly  pointed  out  that  neither  the  gentleman 
from  New  York  nor  the  gentleman  from  Georgia 
had  palliated  or  dared  to  palliate  the  crimes  with 
which  I  charged  him.  But  he  is  bothered  by  the 
scruple  that  because  we  are  permitted  to  punish 
for  participancy  in  insurrection  or  rebellion  we 
cannot  make  any  discrimination  or  distinction. 
Why,  the  honorable  gentleman  must  have  for 
gotten  that  this  is  precisely  what  we  have  been 
doing  ever  since  the  disability  was  imposed.  We 
first  removed  the  disabilities  from  the  least  offen 
sive  class  ;  then  in  the  next  list  we  removed  those 
next  in  order  of  guilty  participancy,  and  so  on, 
until  in  1872  we  removed  the  disability  from  all, 
except  the  army  and  navy  officers,  members  of 
Congress,  and  heads  of  departments.  Why,  sir, 
are  we  not  as  much  justified  to-day  in  excepting 
Jefferson  Davis  as  we  were  in  1872  in  excepting 
the  seven  hundred  and  fifty  of  whom  he  con 
stitutes  one  ?  Therefore  I  beg  to  say  to  my 
honorable  friend,  whose  co-operation  I  crave, 
that  that  point  is  res  adjudicate  by  a  hundred 
acts  upon  the  statute  book.  We  are  entirely 
competent  to  do  just  what  is  proposed  in  my 
amendment. 

"  Now,  Mr.  Speaker,  on  the   question    of   the 
treatment   of  our    prisoners    and   on    the    great 


156  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

question  as  to  who  was  to  blame  for  breaking 
exchange,  the  speech  of  the  honorable  gentleman 
from  Ohio  (Mr.  Garfield)  has  left  me  literally 
nothing  to  say.  He  exhausted  the  subject.  His 
speech  was  unanswerable,  and  I  undertake  to  say 
that  as  yet  no  gentleman  has  answered  one  fact 
that  he  alleged — no  gentleman  in  this  House  can 
answer  one  fact  presented  by  him.  I  shall  not 
therefore  at  any  length  dwell  upon  that.  But  in 
connection  with  one  point  in  history  there  is  some 
thing  which  I  should  feel  it  my  duty,  not  merely 
as  a  member  of  the  Republican  party  which  up 
held  the  administration  that  conducted  the  war, 
but  as  a  citizen  of  the  American  Union,  to  resist 
and  resent,  and  that  is,  the  allegations  that 
were  made  in  regard  to  the  manner  in  which 
Confederate  prisoners  were  treated  in  the 
prisons  of  the  Union.  The  gentleman  from 
Georgia  says  :  '  I  have  also  proved  that  with  all 
the  horrors  you  have  made  such  a  noise  about  as 
occurring  at  Andersonville,  greater  horrors 
occurred  in  the  prisons  where  our  troops  were 
held.' 

"  And  I  could  not  but  admire  the  '  our '  and  the 
'your'  with  which  the  gentleman  conducted  the 
whole  discussion.  It  ill  comported  with  his  later 
profession  of  Unionism.  It  was  certainly  flinging 
the  shadow  of  a  dead  confederacy  a  long  way  over 
the  dial  of  the  National  House  of  Representatives  ; 
and  I  think  the  gentleman  from  New  York 


FIGHTING  THE  SOUTHERN  LEADERS,  157 

fell  into  a  little  of  the  same  line.     Of  that  1  shall 
speak  again. 

********* 

"I  am  quoting  the  gentleman's  speech  as  he 
delivered  it.  I  quote  it  as  it  appeared  in  The 
Daily  Chronicle  and  the  Associated  Press  report. 
I  do  not  pretend  to  be  bound  by  the  version  which 
may  appear  hereafter,  because  I  observed  that 
the  gentleman  from  New  York  (Mr.  Cox)  spoke 
one  speech  and  published  another  (great  laugh 
ter),  and  I  suppose  the  gentleman  from  Georgia 
will  do  the  same.  I  admit  that  the  gentleman 
has  a  difficult  role  to  play.  He  has  to  harmonize 
himself  with  the  great  Northern  Democracy  and 
keep  himself  in  high  line  as  a  Democratic  candi 
date  for  Senator  from  Georgia  ;  and  it  is  a  very 
difficult  thing  to  reconcile  the  two.  (Laughter.) 
The  'barn-burner  Democrats '  in  1853  tried  very 
hard  to  adhere  to  their  anti-slavery  principles  in 
New  York  and  still  support  the  Pierce  administra 
tion  ;  and  Mr.  Greely,  with  that  inimitable  humor 
which  he  possessed,  said  that  they  found  it  a  very 
hard  road  to  straddle,  like  a  militia  general  on 
parade  on  Broadway,  who  finds  it  an  almost  impos 
sible  task  to  follow  the  music  and  dodge  the  omni 
buses.  (Laughter.)  And  that  is  what  the  gentleman 
does.  The  gentleman -tries  to  keep  step  to  the 
music  of  the  Union  and  dodge  his  fire-eating  con 
stituency  in  Georgia.  (Great  laughter.)  Then  here 
is  another  quotation  :  '  We  know  our  prisoners 


158  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

suffered  in  Federal  hands,  and  we  know  how,  if 
we  chose  to"  tell,  thousands  of  our  poor  men  came 
home  from  Fort  Delaware  and  other  places  with 
their  fingers  frozen  off,  with  their  toes  frozen  off, 
with  their  teeth  fallen  out.' 

•%.  *  *  *  *  *  *  5JS        '         •      * 

"The  gentleman  from  New  York  stated  that 
'  he  had  it  on  the  authority  of  sixty  and  odd  gen 
tlemen  here,  many  of  them  having  been  in  the 
service  of  the  Confederacy  during  the  war,  that 
no  order  was  issued  at  any  time  in  the  South  rel 
ative  to  prisoners  who  were  taken  by  the  South 
as  to  rations  or  clothing  that  did  not  apply  equally 
to  their  own  soldiers,  and  that  any *ex  parte  state 
ments  taken  by  that  humbug  committee  on  the 
conduct  of  the  war  could  not  controvert  the  facts 
of  history.'  The  gentleman  therefore  stands  up  here 
as  denying  the  atrocities  of  Andersonville.  He 
seconds  the  gentleman  from  Georgia  and  gives 
the  weight  of  whatever  may  be  attached  to  his 
word  to  denying  that  fact.  Now,  the  gentleman 
himself  did  not  always  talk  so.  I  have  here  a 
debate  that  occurred  on  the  twenty-first  of 
December,  1864,  in  which,  while  the  proposition 
was  pending  in  the  House  for  retaliation,  the  gen 
tleman,  then  from  Ohio,  said:  'This  resolution 
provides  for  inflicting  upon  the  rebel  prisoners 
who  may  be  in  our  hands  the  same  inhuman, 
barbarous,  horrible  treatment  which  has  been 
inflicted  upon  our  soldiers  held  as  prisoners  by 


FIGHTING   THE  SOUTHERN  LEADERS.  159 

the  rebels.  Now,  Mt\  Speaker '  (continued  the 
enraged  gentleman  at  that  time),  'ft  does  not 
follow  that  because  the  rebels  have  made  brutes 
and  fiends  of  themselves  that  we  should  do  like 
wise.' 

"  'There  is,'  he  says,  'a  certain  law  of  retalia 
tion  in  war,  I  know  ;  but '  (continued  the  gentle 
man)  '  no  man  will  stand  up  here  and  say,  after 
due  deliberation,  that  he  would  reduce  these  pris 
oners  thrust  into  ourhands  into  the  same  condition 
exhibited  by  these  skeletons,  these  pictures,  these 
anatomies  brought  to  our  attention  and  laid  upon 
the  desks  of  members  of  Congress.'  Then  the 

o 

gentleman  says  :  '  It  does  not  follow  because  our 
prisoners  are  treated  in  the  way  represented,  and 
no  doubt  truthfully  represented.'  That  is  what 
the  gentleman  said  in  1 864  ;  but  when  a  solemn 
committee  of  Congress,  made  up  of  honorable 
gentlemen  of  both  sides  of  the  House,  bring  in 
exactly  the  statements  which  verify  all  this,  then 
the  gentleman  states  '  that  the  authority  was  a 

humbug  committee.' 

*       *       #        *        *•#        #        *        * 

"  '  Senator  Hill,  of  Georgia,  introduced  the  fol 
lowing  resolution  in  the  Confederate  Congress  in 
October,  1862  :  "That  every  person  pretending 
to  be  a  soldier  or  officer  of  the  United  States, 
who  shall  be  captured  on  the  soil  of  the  Confede 
rate  States  after  the  first  day  of  January,  1863, 
shall  be  presumed  to  have  entered  the  territory 


l6o  JAMES   G.   BLAINE, 

of-  the  Confederate  States  with  intent  to  incite 
insurrection  and  to  abet  murder  ;  and  unless 
satisfactory  proof  be  adduced  to  the  contrary 
before  the  military  court  before  which  the  trial 
shall  be  had,  he  shall  suffer  death.  And  this  sec 
tion  shall  continue  io  force  until  the  proclamation 
issued  by  Abraham  Lincoln,  dated  Washington, 
September  22,  1862,  shall  be  rescinded"/' 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  what  does  this  mean?  What 
did  the  gentleman  from  Georgia  mean  when, 
from  the  Committee  on  the  Judiciary,  he  intro 
duced  the  following  :  '  2.  Every  white  person  who 
shall  act  as  a  commissioned  or  non-commissioned 
officer,  commanding  negroes  or  mulattoes  against 
the  Confederate  States,  or  who  shall  arm,  organ 
ize,  train  or  prepare  negroes  or  mulattoes  for 
military  service,  or  aid  them  in  any  military  enter 
prise  against  the  Confederate  States,  shall,  if 
captured,  suffer  death.  3.  Every  commissioned 
or  non-commissioned  officer  of  the  enemy  who 
shall  incite  slaves  to  rebellion,  or  pretend  to  give 
them  freedom,  under  the  aforementioned  Act  of 
Congress  and  proclamation,  by  abducting,  or 
causing  them  to  be  abducted,  or  inducing  them  to 
abscond,  shall,  if  captured,  suffer  death/  Now, 
Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  searched  somewhat,  but  in 
vain,  for  anything  in  the  world  that  rivals  this. 
I  did  find,  and  have  here  in  my  minutes,  the 
proclamation  of  Valmeseda,  the  Captain-General 
of  Cuba,  who  was  recalled  by  Spain  because  of 


FIGHTING   THE  SOUTHERN  LEADERS.  l6l 

his  atrocious  cruelties  to  the  inhabitants  of  that 
island  ;  and  the  worst  thing  in  all  the  atrocities 
laid  to  his  charge  was  that  he  proclaimed  'that 
every  man  or  boy  over  fifteen  years  found  away 
from  his  house,  not  being  able  to  give  a  satisfac 
tory  reason  therefor,  should  suffer  death.'  He 
copied  it  from  the  resolution  of  the  gentleman 
from  Georgia. 

o 

"  Now,  Mr.  Speaker,  I  hold  in  my  hand  a  copy 
of  the  Atlanta  Constitution,  printed  on  the  twenty- 
fourth  .of  January,  1875.  We  are  told  that  all 
these  allegations  against  Jefferson  Davis  should 
be  forgiven  because  they  are  all  of  the  dead  past. 

l'\Ye  are  told  that  we  should  not  revive  them, 
that  there  should  be  nothing  in  the  world  brought 
up  in  any  way  to  disturb  the  beautiful  serenity  of 
the  centennial  year,  and  that  to  make  any  allusion 
to  them  whatever  is  to  do  an  unwelcome  and  un 
patriotic  act.  The  very  last  declaration  we  have 
from  Jefferson  Davis  authentically,  in  the  life 
which  the  gentleman  from  Georgia  held  the  other 
day  as  a  text  book,  reads  thus  : 

"'Time  will  show,  however,  the  amount  of 
truth  in  the  prophecy  of  Jefferson  Davis'  (says 
the  biographer,  made  in  reply  to  the  remark  that 
the  cause  of  the  Confederacy  was  lost.  Mr. 
Davis  said)  :  '  It  appears  so,  but  the  principle  for 
which  we  contended  is  bound  to  reassert  itself, 
though  it  may  be  at  another  time  and  in  another 
form.' 


1 62  JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

"  Now,  I  have  here,  of  the  date  of  January  24, 
1875,  a  speech  by  the  Hon.  B.  H.  Hill,  in  the 
Atlanta  Constitution,  and  it  is  said  to  have  been 
the  'grandest  speech'  he  ever  delivered. 

"  I  quote  from  him  :  *  Fellow-citizens  :  I  look  to 
the  contest  of  1876  not  only  as  the  most  impor 
tant  that  ever  occurred  in  American  history,  but 
as  the  most  important  in  the  history  of  the  world  ; 
for  if  the  people  of  the  country  cannot  be  aroused 
to  give  an  overwhelming  vote  against  this  Repub 
lican  party,  it  will  perpetuate  itself  in  power  in  the 
United  States  by  precisely  the  same  means  that  the 
President  has  taken  in  Louisiana,  and  the  people 
will  be  powerless  to  prevent  it  except  they  go  to 
war.  (Applause.)  If  we  fail  with  the  ballot-box  in 
1876  by  reason  of  force,  a  startling  question  will 
present  itself  to  the  American  people.  I  trust  we 
will  not  fail.  I  hope  the  Northern  people  have 
had  a  sufficient  subsidence  of  passion  to  see  this 
question  fairly.' 

"  The  gentleman  says  :  '  If  we  must  have  war  ; 
if  we  cannot  preserve  this  Constitution  and  con 
stitutional  government  by  the  ballot ;  if  force  is  to 
defeat  the  ballot ;  if  the  war  must  come — God 
forbid  that  it  should  come — but  if  it  must  come  ; 
if  folly,  if  wickedness,  if  inordinate  love  of  power, 
shall  decree  that  America  must  save  her  Consti 
tution  by  blood,  let  it  come  ;  I  am  ready/ 
(Laughter.)  And  then  the  ge<ntleman  said,  in 
another  speech,  of  May  I2th:  'He  impressed 


WM.  WINDOM. 


FIGHTING   THE  SOUTHERN  LEADERS.  165 

upon  the  colored  men  of  the  country  the  truth 
that,  if  the  folly  and  wickedness  were  consum 
mated  in  war,  they  would  be  the  greatest  sufferers. 
If  peace  was  preserved,  they  were  safe,  but  as 
sure  as  one  war  had  freed  them,  just  as  sure 
another  war  would  re- enslave  them/  Now  that 
was  precisely  the  kind  of  talk  we  had  here  by 
folios  and  reams  before  the  Rebellion.  Oh,  yes, 
you  were  for  war  then.  The  gentleman,  in  his 
speech,  says  that  the  Union  now  is  an  unmixed 
blessing,  providing  the  Democratic  party  can  rule 
it,  but  that  if  the  Republican  party  must  rule  it, 
he  is  for  war.  Why,  that  is  just  what  Jefferson 
Davis  said  in  1861. 

"  I  have  here  very  much  more  of  the  same  kind. 
I  have  been  supplied  with  very  abundant  literature 
emanating  from  the  gentleman,  more,  indeed, 
than  I  have  had  time  to  read.  He  seems  to  have 
been  as  voluminous  as  the  Spanish  Chroniclers. 
In  one  speech  he  says  :  'I  must  say  a  word  about 
this  list  of  disabilities  removed.  I  would  rather 
see  my  name  recorded  in  the  Georgia  penitentiary 
than  to  find  it  on  a  list  of  the  removal  of  disabili 
ties.  Why,  my  friends,  do  you  not  know  that 
when  you  go  to  that  Congress  and  ask  for  a  re 
moval  of  disabilities,  you  admit  that  you  are  a 
traitor?'" 

Mr.  Hill. — What  do  you  read  from  ? 

Mr.  Elaine. — From  a  report  in  a  Cincinnati 
Daily  Gazette  giving  an  account  of  a  great 


10 


1 66  J.IMES  G.   BLAJM  . 

meeting  in  1868,  at  which  Howell  Cobb,  Robert 
Toombs  and  the  Hon.  B.  H.  Hill  made  speeches. 
And  there  the  gentleman  declared  that  he  would 
rather  have  his  name  on  the  list  of  the  Georgia 
penitentiary  than  on  the  list  of  the  removal  of 
disabilities. 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  I  do  not  desire  to  stir  up  more 
needless  ill-blood,  but  the  gentleman  from  Ohio 
(Mr.  Garfield)  yesterday,  apparently  without 
much  thought,  spoke  of  a  class  of  men  in  the 
Southern  States  who  had  committed  perjury,  and 
I  would  like  to  address  the  gentleman  a  question 
that  he  can  answer  when  he  gets  the  floor." 

Mr.  Hill. — Will  you  not  allow  me  to  answer 
it  now  ? 

Mr.  Elaine. — No,  sir,  not  now.  Suppose  you 
inaugurate  a  great  war  if  the  Republican  party 
retains  power,  and  you  and  all  these  gentlemen 
who  sympathize  with  you  upon  this  floor,  and 
who  had  taken  an  oath  to  bear  true  allegiance  to 
the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  that  you 
took  that  oath  without  mental  reservation,  then 
revolt  against  the  country  ;  what  would  that  be? 
Would  it  have  any  relation  to  perjury? 

"  But,  Mr.  Speaker,  you  see  the  effect  of  the 
speeches  of  the  gentleman  from  Georgia.  They 
are  very  tremendous  down  there.  The  very  earth 
quakes  under  him.  One  of  his  organs  says  :  '  We 
assert  without  fear  of  contradiction  that  Mr.  Hill 
in  his  bitter  denunciation  of  scalawags  and 


FIGHTING  THE  SOUTHERN  LEADERS.  l6/ 

carpet-baggers  has  deterred  thousands  of  them 
from  entering  the  ranks  of  the  Radical  party. 
They  dare  not  do  so  for  fear  of  social  ostracism, 
and  to-day  the  white  population  of  Georgia  are 
unanimous  in  favor  of  the  Democratic  party.' 

"  And  when  he  can  get  the  rest  of  the  States  to 
the  same  standard  he  is  for  war. 

"Now,  Mr.  Speaker,  the  gentleman  cannot,  by 
withholding  his  speech  here  and  revising  it  and 
adapting  it  to  the  Northern  Democracy,  erase  his 
speeches  in  Georgia.  I  have  quoted  from  them. 
I  have  quoted  from  Democratic  papers.  There  is 
no  accusation  that  there  is  any  perversion  in  Re 
publican  papers  or  that  he  was  misrepresented. 
But  the  gentleman  deliberately  states  that  in  a 
certain  contingency  of  the  Republican  party  hav 
ing  power  he  is  for  war  ;  and  I  undertake  here  to 
say  that,  in  all  the  mad,  hot  wrath  in  the  Thirty- 
sixth  Congress  that  precipitated  the  revolt  in  this 
country,  there  is  not  one  speech  to  be  found  that 
breathes  a  more  determined  rebellion  against  law 
ful  authority  or  a  guiltier  readiness  to  resist  it 
than  the  speech  of  the  gentleman  from  Georgia. 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  I  have  not  much  time  left.  I 
said  briefly  in  my  first  speech,  that  God  forbid  I 
should  lay  at  the  door  of  the  Southern  people,  as 
a  people,  these  atrocities.  I  repeat  it,  I  lay  no 
such  charge  at  their  door.  Sir,  I  have  read  in  this 
1  ex  parte  humbug  report '  that  there  were  deep 
movements  among  the  Southern  people  about 


JAMES   G.   ELAINE, 

these  atrocities  ;  that  there  was  a  profound  sensi 
bility.  I  know  that  the  leading  officers  of  the 
Confederacy  protested  against  them  ;  I  know  that 
many  of  the  subordinate  officers  protested  against 
them.  I  know  that  an  honorable  gentleman  from 
North  Carolina,  now  representing  his  State  in  the 
other  end  of  the  capitol,  protested  against  them. 
But  I  have  searched  the  records  in  vain  to  find 
that  the  gentleman  from  Georgia  (Mr.  Hill)  pro 
tested  against  them. 

"They  were  known  to  the  Confederate  Con 
gress  ;  they  were  known  at  the  doorway  of  your 
Senate  and  along  the  corridors  .of  your  capitol. 
The  honorable  and  venerable  gentleman  in  my 
eye  at  this  moment,  who  served  in  the  Confede 
rate  Congress,  and  who  had  before  served  in  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States,  himself  brought  them 
to  the  attention  of  the  Confederate  Congress,  and 
I  class  him  with  great  gladness  among  those 
whose  humanity  was  never  quenched  by  the  fires 
of  the  rebellion.  I  allude  to  the  Honorable 
Henry  S.  Foote. 

"My  time  is  running  and  I  have  but  very  little 
left.  I  confess — and  I  say  it  to  the  gentleman  from 
Georgia,  with  no  personal  unkindness — I  confess 
that  my  very  blood  boiled,  if  there  was  anything 
of  tradition,  of  memory,  of  feeling,  it  boiled  when 
I  heard  the  gentleman,  with  his  record,  which  I 
have  read,  seconded  and  sustained  by  the  gentle 
man  from  New  York,  arraigning  the  administration 


FIGHTING  THE  SOUTHERN  LEADERS.  169 

of  Abraham  Lincoln,  throwing  obloquy  and  slander 
upon  the  grave  of  Edwin  M.  Stanton,  and  de 
manding  that  Jefferson  Davis  should  be  restored 
to  full  citizenship  in  this  country !  Ah,  that  is  a 
novel  spectacle ;  the  gentleman  from  Georgia 
does  not  know  how  novel.  The  gentleman  from 
Georgia  does  not  know,  and  he  cannot  know,  how 
many  hundred  thousand  of  Northern  bosoms  ivere 
lacerated  by  his  course. 

#####**## 

"I  repeat,  that  proposition  strikes — I  might  say 
almost  terror  into  Northern  hearts  ;  that  here,  in 
an  American  Congress',  the  gentleman  who  offered 
that  resolution  in  the  Confederate  Congress,  who 
in  his  campaign  for  a  seat  in  this  House  comes 
here  breathing  threatenings  and  slaughter,  who 
comes  here  telling  you  that  in  a  certain  contin 
gency  he  means  war,  advising  his  people  to  be 
ready  for  it — that  gentleman,  profaning  the  very 
altar  of  patriotic  liberty  with  the  speech  that  sends 
him  here,  arraigning  the  administration  that  con 
ducted  the  war  and  saved  the  Union — that  gentle 
man  asks  us  to  join  with  him  in  paying  the  last  full 
measure  of  honor  that  an  American  Congress  can 
pay  to  the  arch  enemy  of  the  Union,  the  arch 
fiend  of  the  rebellion. 

"  Suppose  Jefferson  Davis  is  not  pardoned ; 
suppose  he  is  not- amnestied.  Oh,  you  cannot 
have  a  centennial  year  without  that !  No  man  on 
this  side  has  ever  intimated  that  Jefferson  Davis 


I/O  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

should  be  refused  pardon  on  account  of  any 
political  crimes ;  it  is  too  late  for  that ;  it  is  be 
cause  of  a  personal  crime.  If  you  ask  that  there 
may  be  harmonious  and  universal  rejoicing  over 
every  forgiven  man,  release  all  your  criminals  ; 
set  free  every  man  who  has  been  sentenced  for 
piracy  or  for  murder  by  your  United  States 

Courts-;  proclaim  the  jubilee  indeed. 

********* 

"  But  I  am  authorized,  if  the  gentleman  desires 
it — not  authorized  especially  to  mention  it  here, 
but  I  mention  it  on  the  authority  of  General 
Grant,  whom  the  gentleman  from  Georgia  im 
pugned  in  connection  with  the  exchange  of  pris 
oners — to  say  that  one  thing  touching  the 
exchange  of  prisoners  was  that  the  Davis  govern 
ment  observed  no  honor  in  regard  to  it ;  and 
General  Grant  states  that  the  brigade  of  Carter 
L.  Stephenson,  that  was  dislodged  at  Chattanooga, 
was  made  up  of  paroled  prisoners  from  Vicksburg, 
and  that  Stephenson  himself  was  one  of  them. 
He  states  that  the  paroled  prisoners  of  one  day 
in  front  of  his  line  were  taken  the  next.  But  in 
stating  this  he  was  careful  to  say  that,  as  to  Lee 
and  the  two  Johnsons  and  Pemberton,  and  the 
other  leading  Confederate  generals,  their  word 
was  honor  itself;  but  that  for  the  Davis  executive 
government,  there  was  no  honor  in  it — none  what 
ever.  The  gentleman  has  got  enough  of  General 
Grant  by  this  time,  I  hope. 


FIGHTING   THE  SOUTHERN  LEADERS.  171 

"Now,  in  regard  to  the  relative  number  of 
prisoners  that  died  in  the  North  and  the  South 
respectively,  the  gentleman  undertook  to  show  that 
a  great  many  more  prisoners  died  in  the  hands  of 
the  Union  authorities  than  in  the  hands  of  the 
rebels.  I  have  had  conversations  with  surgeons 
of  the  army  about  that,  and  they  say  that  there 
were  a  large  number  of  deaths  of  rebel  prisoners, 
but  that  during  the  latter  period  of  the  war  they 
came  into  our  hands  very  much  exhausted,  ill-clad, 
ill-fed,  diseased  so  that  they  died  in  our  prisons  of 
diseases  that  they  brought  with  them.  And  one 
eminent  surgeon  said, 'without  wishing  at  all  to  be 
quoted  in  this  debate,  that  the  question  was  not 
only  what  was  the  condition  of  the  prisoners  when 
they  came  to  us,  but  what  it  was  when  they  were 
sent  back. 

"Our  men  were  taken  in  full  health  and  strength ; 
they  came  back  wasted  and  worn — mere  skeletons. 
The  rebel  prisoners,  in  large  numbers,  were,  when 
taken,  emaciated  and  reduced;  and  General  Grant 
says  that  at  the  time,  such  superhuman  efforts 
were  made  for  exchange,  there  were  90,000  men 
that  would  have  re-enforced  your  armies  the  next 
day,  prisoners  in  our  hands  who  were  in  good 
health  and  ready  for  fight.  This  consideration  sheds 
a  great  deal  of  light  on  what  the  gentleman  states. 

"The  gentleman  from  Illinois  (Mr.  Hurlbut) 
puts  a  letter  into  my  hands.  I  read  it  without 
really  knowing  what  it  may  show  : 


1/2  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

"  '  CONFEDERATE  STATES  OK  AMERICA, 

"  *WAR  DEPARTMENT, 
"  '  RICHMOND,  VIRGINIA,  March  21, 1863. 

"  '  MY  DEAR  SIR  : — If  the  exigencies  of  our  army  require  the  use  of 
trains  for  transportation  of  corn,  pay  no  regard  to  the  Yankee  prisoners ;  I 
would  rather  that  they  should  starve  than  our  own  people  suffer. 

"'I  suppose  I  can  safely  put  in  writing:  "Let  them  suffer."  The 
words  are  memorable,  and  it  is  fortunate  that  in  this  case  they  can  be  ap 
plied  properly  and  without  the  intervention  of  a  lying  quartermaster. 

"  '  Very  truly  your  faithful  friend, 

"  «  ROBERT  OULD. 
"  '  COLONEL  A.  C.  MYERS." 

"  That  is  a  good  piece  of  literature  in  this  con 
nection.  Mr.  Ould,  I  believe,  was  the  rebel 
commissioner  to  exchange.  "  When  the  gentleman 
from  Georgia  next  takes  the  floor  I  want  him  to 
state  what  excuse  there  was  for  ordering  the 
Florida  artillery,  in  case  General  Sherman's  army 
got  within  seven  miles  of  Andersonville,  to  fire  on 
that  stockade. 

*  #  *  jjs  :jc  *  *  *  * 

"Why,  Mr.  Speaker,  the  administration  of 
Martin  Van  Buren,  that  went  down  in  a  popular 
convulsion  in  1840,  had  no  little  of  obloquy 
thrown  upon  it  because  it  had  ventured  to  hunt 
the  Seminoles  in  the  swamps  of  Florida  with 
bloodhounds.  *  *  Bloodthirsty  dogs  were  sent 
after  the  hiding  savages,  and  the  civilization  of 
the  nineteenth  century  and  the  -Christian  feeling 
of  the  American  people  revolted  at  it.  And  I 
state  here,  and  the  gentleman  from  Georgia  (Mr. 
Hill)  cannot  deny  it,  that  upon  the  testimony  of 


FIGHTING  THE  SOUTHERN  LEADERS. 

witnesses  as  numerous  as  would  require  me  all 
day  to  read,  bloodhounds  were  used  ;  that  large 
packs  of  them  were  kept,  and  Georgia  officers 
commanded  them  ;  that  they  were  sent  after  the 
poor  unfortunate,  shrinking  men  who  by  any  acci 
dent  could  get  out  of  that  horrible  stockade.  I 
state,  sir,  that  the  civilization  of  the  world  stands 
aghast  at  what  was  done  at  Andersonville.  And 
the  man  who  did  that  was  sustained  by  Jefferson 
Davis,  and  promoted.  Yet  the  gentleman  says 
that  was  analogous  to  General  Grant  sending 
McDonald  to  the  penitentiary. 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  in  view  of  all  these  facts' I  have 
only  to  say  that  if  the  American  Congress,  by  a 
two-thirds  vote,  shall  pronounce  Jefferson  Davis 
worthy  to  be  restored  to  the  full  rights  of  Ameri 
can  citizenship,  I  can  only  vote  against  it  and 
hang  my  head  in  silence,  and  regret  it."  (Ap 
plause.) 

The  result  of  this  debate  was  a  "draw."  But 
Mr.  Elaine  won  enormous  prestige  by  it,  and  was 
thereafter  the  idol  of  the  millions  who  were  appre 
hensive  of  the  returning  power  of  the  South  and 
were  resolved  to  resist  it  by  all  lawful  means. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

DEALING    WITH    SLANDER. 

A  Carnival  of  Scandal  Hunting — Newspaper  Insinuations — Char^vs  in 
Congress — Mr.  Elaine's  Effective  Reply — Fresh  Accusations — The 
Mulligan  Letters — Political  Objects  of  the  Investigations — Mr.  Brine's 
Recovery  of  the  Letters — His  Production  of  Them  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  —  The  Suppressed  Despatch  from  Caldwell  —  A 
Dramatic  Scene  in  the  House — Mr.  Elaine's  Triumphant  Acquittal  at 
the  Bar  of  Public  Opinion. 

At  the  Congressional  elections  of  Nr Arember, 
1874,  a  political  revolution  was  effected.  For  the 
first  time  since  the  outbreak  of  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion,  an  overwhelming  Democratic  majority 
was  returned  to  the  House  of  Representatives. 
That  majority  immediately  set  itself  to  the  task 
of  investigating  the  record  of  the  Republicans, 
who  had  held  practically  undisputed  control  in  all 
branches  of  the  Government  for  many  years. 
Dozens  of  investigating  committees  were  ap 
pointed,  to  pry  into  all  branches  of  the  Adminis 
tration,  and  into  the  personal  conduct  of  all  the 
leaders  of  the  Republican  party.  The  era  under 
investigation  comprised  the  years  of  the  war  and 
the  reconstruction  period,  immediately  following. 
This  was  a  time  of  large  and  lavish  expenditures, 
and  unquestionably  of  considerable  looseness  and 
174 


DEALING   WITH  SLANDER.  ^5 

corruption  in  various  quarters.  The  numerous 
committees  did  succeed  in  exposing  some  abuses 
and  dishonesty,  and  not  a  few  prominent  politicians 
were  permanently  retired  with  hopelessly  be 
smirched  reputations.  But  in  the  great  majority 
of  instances,  the  quest  of  the  investigators  was 
fruitless. 

The  most  notable  of  these  investigations,  and 
the  one  which  was  most  productive  of  results,  was 
that  into  the  operations  of  the  Credit  Mobilier  of 
the  Union  Pacific  Railroad.  This  -had  come  up 
before,  while  the  Republicans  were  still  in  control 
of  Congress,  and  while  Mr.  Elaine  was  Speaker 
of  the  House.  Mr.  Elaine  had  himself  moved  for 
the  investigation,  for  the  reason  that  he  had  been 
charged  with  complicity  in  the  corrupt  practices. 
The  result  was  his  most  complete  exoneration. 
Down  to  the  "beginning  of  1876,  therefore,  Mr. 
Elaine's  reputation  was  above  reproach  and  above 
suspicion.  But  the  mania  for  investigation,  and 
for  assaults  upon  character,  which  now  set  in,  was 
not  inclined  to  spare  so  conspicuous  a  mark.  He 
was,  moreover,  a  leading  candidate  for  the  Presi 
dency,  and  popular  enthusiasm  in  his  support  was 
every  day  growing  more  intense.  The  leaders  of 
the  opposing  party  were,  therefore,  naturally  most 
anxious  to  destroy  his  prestige,  and  this  could 
most  effectually  be  done,  they  thought,  by  fasten 
ing  upon  him  the  odium  of  some  questionable 
or  dishonest  conduct  in  public  affairs. 


176  JAM£S   G.    BLAINE. 

The  campaign  against  him  was  begun  outside 
of  Congress.  A  not  greatly  important  Western 
newspaper  first  printed  a  scandalous  attack  upon 
him,  more  in  the  form  of  innuendo  and  suggestion 
than  specific  indictment.  Day  by  day  the  attacks 
were  continued,  constantly  growing  more  definite 
in  tone,  but  constantly  hinting  at  some  most  as 
tonishing  and  damning  revelations  that  would 
presently  be  made.  The  gist  of  the  whole  matter 
seemed  to  be,  not  that  he  had  outright  stolen 
public  money,  or  committed  perjury  or  forgery,  or 
robbed  the  church  poor-box,  or  murdered  his  ven 
erable  grandmother,  but  that  he  had  used  his 
official  position  as  Speaker  of  the  House  for  the 
furtherance  of  legislation  in  the  interest  of  certain 
Western  railroads,  and  had,  on  that  account,  be 
come  the  possessor  of  stock  in  those  companies, 
oh  exceptionally  favorable  terms.  Finally  the 
matter  was  brought  to  the  attention  of  the  House 
of  Representatives,  of  which  Mr.  Elaine  was  a 
member  in  the  Republican  minority,  and  of  which 
the  Hon.  Michael  C.  Kerr,  *of  Indiana,  a  high- 
minded  and  honorable  Democrat,  was  Speaker. 
The  Hon.  Proctor  Knott,  of  Kentucky,  one  of  the 
most  conspicuous  Democratic  members,  was  put 
forward  as  the  leader  of  the  investigation  into  and 
attack  upon  Mr.  Elaine's  record.  The  first  im 
portant  passage  of  arms  in  the  House  occurred 
on  April  24,  1876,  when  Mr.  Elaine  made  a  pow 
erful  and  comprehensive  speech,  most  effectively 


DEALING   WITH  SLANDER.  \JJ 

disposing*  of  and  sweeping  away  the  charges 
against  him.  These  charges  were  that  he  had 
received  a  considerable  sum  of  money  from  the 
Union  Pacific'  Railroad  Company  in  reward  for 
his  official  influence  in  its  behalf,  and  that  he  had 
similarly  received  some  shares  of  stock  in  an 
Arkansas  railroad  company.  Mr.  Elaine's  speech 
v/as  as  follows : 

"  Mr.  Speaker,  with  the  leave  of  the  House  so 
kindly  granted,  I  shall  proceed  to  submit  certain 
facts  and  correct  certain  errors  personal  to  myself. 
The  dates  of  the  correspondence  embraced  in  my 
statement  will  show  that  it  was  impossible  for  me 
to  make  it  earlier.  I  shall  be  as  brief  as  the  cir 
cumstances  will  permit.  For  some  months  past  a 
charge  against  me  has  been  circulating  in  private 
— and  was  recently  made  public — designing  to 
show  that  I  had  in  some  indirect  manner  received 
the  large  sum  of  $64,000  from  the  Union  Pacific 
Railroad  Company  in  1871,  for  what  services  or 
for  what  purpose  has  never  been  stated.  The 
alleged  proofs  of  the  serious  accusation  were  based, 
according  to  the  original  story,  upon  the  author 
ship  of  E.  H.  Rollins,  treasurer  of  the  Union 
Pacific  Company,  who,  it  is  averred,  had  full 
knowledge  that  I  got  the  money,  and  also  upon 
the  authority  of  Morton,  Bliss  &  Company, 
bankers  of  New  York,  through  whom  the  draft 
for  §64,000  was  said  to  have  been  negotiated  for 
my  benefit,  as  they  confidently  knew.  Hearing 


1/8  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

of  this  charge  some  weeks  in  advance  of  its 
publication,  I  procured  the  following  statement 
from  the  two  principal  witnesses,  who  were  quoted 
as  having  such  definite  knowledge  against  me : 

"«UNION  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  COMPANY. 

"'BOSTON,  March  31,  1876. 

"  'Dear  Sir : — In  response  to  your  inquiry,  I  beg  leave  to  state  that  I 
have  been  treasurer  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company  since  April  8» 
1871,  and  have  necessarily  known  of  all  disbursements  made  since  that 
date.  During  the  entire  period  up  to  the  present  time  I  am  sure  that  no 
money  has  been  paid  in  any  way  or  to  any  person  by  the  company  in  which 
you  were  interested  in  any  manner  whatever.  I  make  the  statement  in 
justice  to  the  company,  to  you,  and  to  myself. 

"  '  Very  respectfully  yours, 

"'B.  H.  ROLLINS. 
" «  HON.  JAMES  G.  ELAINE.' 

"  '  NEW  YORK,  April  6,  1876. 

"'Dear  Sir : — In  answer  to  your  inquiry,  we  beg  to  say  that  no  draft, 
note,  or  check,  or  other  evidence  of  value  has  passed  through  our  books  in 
which  you  were  known  or  supposed  to  have  any  interest  of  any  kind,  direct 
or  indirect. 

" '  We  remain,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servants, 

"  '  MORTON,  BLISS  &  CO. 
"•HON.  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 
"  «  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.' 

"  Some  persons  on  reading  the  letter  of  Morton, 
Bliss  &  Company  said  that  its  denial  seemed  to  be 
confined  to  any  payment  that  had  passed  through 
their  books,  whereas  they  might  have  paid  a  draft 
in  which  I  was  interested  and  yet  no  entry  made  of 
it  on  their  books.  On  the  criticism  being  made 
known  to  the  firm,  they  at  once  addressed  me  the 
following  letter : 

"'  NEW  YORK,  April  13,  1876. 

"  'Dear  Sir  : — It  has  been  suggested  to  us  that  our  letter  of  the  6th 
instant  was  not  sufficiently  inclusive  or  exclusive.  In  that  letter  we  stated 


DEALING   WITH  SLANDER.  1/9 

"that  no  draft,  note,  or  check,  or  other  evidence  of  value  has  ever  passed 
tluough  our  books  in  which  you  were  known  or  supposed  to  have  any 
interest,  direct  or  indirect."  It  may  be  proper  for  us  to  add  tint  nothing  has 
been  paid  to  us  in  any  form,  or  at  any  time,  to  any  person  or  any  corporation 
in  which  you  were  known,  believed,  or  supposed  to  have  any  interest 
whatever. 

" '  We  remain,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servants, 

"  •  MORTON,  BLISS  &  CO. 
" '  HON.  JAMES  G.  ELAINE, 
.  "  '  WASHINGTON,  D.  C. 

"The  two  witnesses  quoted  for  the  original 
charge  having  thus  effectually  disposed  of  it,  the 
charge  itself  reappeared  in  another  form  to  this 
effect,  namely  :  That  a  certain  draft  was  negotiated 
at  the  house  of  Morton,  Biiss  &  Company  in  1871, 
through  Thomas  A.  Scott,  then  president  of  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  for  the  sum  of 
$64,000,  and  that  $75,000  of  the  bonds  of  the 
Little  Rock  and  Fort  Smith  Railroad  Company 
were  pledged  as  collateral ;  that  the  Union  Pacific 
Company  paid  the  draft  and  took  up  the  collateral : 
that  the  cash  proceeds  of  it  went  to  nre,  and  that 
I  had  furnished,  or  sold,  or  in  some  way  conveyed 
or  transferred  to  Thomas  A.  Scott,  these  Little 
Rock  and  Fort  Smith  bonds  which  had  been  used 
as  collateral ;  that  the  bonds  in  reality  had  be 
longed  to  me  or  some  friend  or  constituent  of 
mine  for  whom  I  was  acting.  I  endeavor  to  state 
the  charge  in  its  boldest  form  and  in  all  its  phases. 

"I  desire  here  and  now  to  declare  that  all  and 
every  part  of  this  story  that  connects  rny  name 
with  it,  is  absolutely  untrue,  without  a  particle  of 


JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

foundation  in  fact,  and  without  a  tittle  of  evidence 
to  substantiate  it.  I  never  had  any  transaction  of 
any  kind  with  Thomas  A.  Scott  concerning  bonds 
of  the  Little  Rock  and  Fort  Smith  Road,  or  the 
bonds  of  any  other  railroad,  or  any  business  in 
any  way  connected  with  railroads,  directly  or  indi 
rectly,  immediately  or  remotely.  I  never  had  any 
business  transactions  whatever  with  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  Company,  or  any  of  its  officers 
or  agents  or  representatives,  and  never,  in  any 
manner,  received  from  that  Company,  directly  or 
indirectly,  a  single  dollar  in  money,  or  stocks,  or 
bonds,  or  any  other  form  of  value.  And  as  to 
the  particular  transaction  referred  to,  I  never  so 
much  as  heard  of  it  until  nearly  two  -years  after 
its  alleged  occurrence,  when  it  was  talked  of,  at 
the  time  of  the  Credit  Mobilier  investigation,  in 
1873.  But  while  my  denial  ought  to  be  conclusive, 
I  should  greatly  regret  to  be  compelled  to  leave 
the  matter -there.  I  am  fortunately  able  to  sustain 
my  own  declaration  by  the  most  conclusive  evi 
dence  that  the  case  admits  of,  or  that  human 
testimony  can  supply.  If  any  person  or  persons 
know  the  truth  or  falsity  of  these  charges,  it  must 
be  the  officers  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Com 
pany.  I  accordingly  addressed  a  note  to  the 
president  of  that  company,  a  gentleman  who  has 
been  a  director  of  the  company  from  its  organiza 
tion,  I  believe,  who  has  a  more  thorough  acquaint 
ance  with  its  business  transactions,  probably,  than 


w 

H 

55 

W 

CO 
CO 


DEALING   WITH  SLANDER.  183 

any  other  man.  The  correspondence,  which  I 
here  submit,  will  explain  itself,  and  leave  nothing 
to  be  said.  I  will  read  these  letters  in  their  proper 
order.  They  need  no  comment. 

"  'WASHINGTON,  D.  C.,  April  13,  1876. 

'"  Dear  Sir  ; — You  have  doubtless  observed  the  scandal  now  in  circula 
tion  in  regard  to  my  having  been  interested  in  certain  bonds  of  the  Little 
Rock  and  Fort  Smith  Road,  alleged  to  have  been  purchased  by  your  com 
pany  in  1871.  It  is  due  to  me,  I  think,  that  some  statement  in  regard  to 
the  subject  should  be  made  by  yourself,  as  the  official  head  of  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  Company. 

"  '  Very  respectfully, 

«"J.  G.  ELAINE. 
"  '  SIDNEY  DILLON,  ESQ., 

"  '  President  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company.' 

"  *  OFFICE  UNION  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  COMPANY, 

"  <  NEW  YORK,  April  15,  1876. 

"  *  Dear  Sir  : — I  have  your  favor  of  the  I3th  instant,  and  in  reply  desire 
to  say  that  I  have  this  day  written  Colonel  Thomas  A.  Scott,  who  was 
president  of  the  Union  Pacific  Company  at  the  time  of  the  transaction 
referred  to,  a  letter,  of  which  I  send  a  copy  herewith.  On  receipt  of  this 
reply,  I  will  enclose  it  to  you. 

" '  Very  respectfully, 

"<  SIDNEY  DILLON, 

" '  President. 
"  «  HON.  JAMES  G.  ELAINE, 

"  «  Washington,  D.  C.' 

'"OFFICE  OF  THE  UNION  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  Co., 

"  '  NEW  YORK,  April  15,  1876. 

"  '  Dear  Sir  : — The  press  of  tie  country  are  making  allegations  that  cer 
tain  bonds  of  the  Little  Rock  and  Fort  Smith  Railroad  Company,  in  1871, 
were  obtained  from  Hon.  James  G.  Elaine,  of  Maine,  or  that  the  avails,  in 
some  form,  \veni  to  uis  benefit,  and  that  the  knowledge  of  those  facts  rests 
with  the  officers  of  the  company  and  with  yourself.  These  statements  are 
injurious  Doth  to  Mr.  Elaine  and  to  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company. 
There  were  never  any  facts  to  warrant  them,  and  I  think  that  a  statement 
to  the  public  is  due  both  from  you  and  myself.  I  desire,  as  president  of  the 
II 


JAMES  G,   ELAINE. 

company,  to  repel  any  sj.cn.  inference  in  the  most  emphatic  manner,  and 
would  be  glad  to  hear  from  you  on  the  subject. 
"  *  Very  respectfully, 

"'SIDNEY 'DILLON, 

"  '  President, 
«  '  COL.  THOMAS  A.  SCOTT, 

"  '  Philadelphia,  Pa.' 

" '  OFFICE  UNION  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  COMPANY. 

"  «  NEW  YORK,  April  22,  1876. 

"  'Dear  Sir  : — As  I  advised  you  some  days  ago,  I  wrote  Colonel  Thomas 
A.  Scott,  and  begged  leave  to  enclose  you  his  reply.  I  desire  further  to  say 
that  I  was  a  director  of  the  company  and  a  member  of  the  executive  com 
mittee  in  1871,  and  to  add  my  testimony  to  that  of  Colonel  Scott  in  verifica 
tion  of  all  that  he  has  stated  in  the  enclosed  letter. 
"  '  Truly  yours, 

"  •  SIDNEY  DILLON, 

"  'President. 

" '  HON.  JAMES  G.  ELAINE, 
" '  WASHINGTON,  D.  C.' 

"'  PHILADELPHIA,  April  21,  1876. 

"  lMy  Dear  Sir : — I  have  your  letter  under  date  Is'ew  York,  April  15, 
1876,  stating  that  the  press  of  the  country  are  making  allegations  that  certain 
bonds  of  the  Little  Rock  and  Fort  Smith  Railroad,  purchased  by  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  Company  in  1871,  were  obtained  from  Hon.  J.  G.  Elaine, 
of  Maine,  or  that  the  avails  in  some  form  went  to  his  benefit ;  that  there 
never  were  any  facts  to  warrant  them;  that  it  is  your  desire  as  president  of 
the  company  to  repel  any  such  influence  in  the  most  emphatic  manner,  and 
asking  me  to  make  a  statement  in  regard  to  the  matter. 

" '  In  reply,  I  beg  leave  to  say  that  much  as  I  dislike  the  idea  of  entering 
into  any  of  the  controversies  that  are  before  the  public  in  these  days  of 
scandal  from  which  but  few  men  in  public  life  seem  to  be  exempt,  I  feel  it 
my  duty  to  state : 

"  '  That  the  Little  Rock  and  Fort  Smith  bonds  purchased  by  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  Company  in  1871  were  not  purchased  or  received  from 
Mr.  Elaine,  directly  or  indirectly,  and  that  of  the  money  paid  by  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  Company,  or  of  the  avails  of  said  bonds,  not  one  dollar 
went  to  Mr.  Elaine  or  to  any  person  for  him,  or  for  his  benefit  in  any  form. 

"'  All  statements  to  the  effect  that  Mr.  Elaine  ever  had  any  transactions 
with  me,  directly  or  indirectly,  involving  money  or  valuables  of  any  kind, 
are  absolutely  without  foundation  in  fact. 


DEALING   WITH  SLANDER.  185 

' '  I  take  pleasure  in  making  this  statement  to  you,  and  you  may  use  it  in 
any  manner  )ou  deem  best  for  the  interest  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad 
<.  ompany. 

"  '  Very  truly  yours, 

"  '  THOMAS  A.  SCOTT. 
"'SIDNEY  DILLON,  ESQ.,  President, 

'"UNION  PACIFIC  RAILROAD  COMPANY,  New  York.' 

"Let  me  now,  Mr.  Speaker,  briefly  summarize 
what  I  presented  :  First,  that  the  story  of  my 
receiving  $64,000  or  any  other  sum  of  money,  or 
anything  of  value,  from  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad 
Company,  directly  or  indirectly,  or  in  any  form,  is 
absolutely  disproved  by  the  most  conclusive  testi 
mony.  Second,  that  no  bond  of  mine  was  ever 
sold  to  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  or  the  Missouri, 
Kansas  and  Texas  Railroad  Company,  and  that  not 
a  single  dollar  of  money  from  either  of  these 
companies  ever  went  to  my  profit  or  benefit. 
Third,  that  instead  of  receiving  bonds  of  the  Little 
Rock  and  Fort  Smith  Road  as  a  gratuity,  I  never 
had  one  except  at  the  regular  market  price  ;  and 
instead  of  making  a  large  fortune  off  that  company, 
I  have  incurred  a  severe  pecuniary  loss  from  my 
investment  in  its  securities,  which  I- still,  retain  ; 
and  out  of  such  affairs  as  these  grows  the  popular 
gossip  of  large  fortunes  amassed  in  Congress.  I 
can  hardly  expect,  Mr.  Speaker,  that  any  statement 
from  me  will  stop  the  work  of  those  who  have  so 
industriously  circulated  these  calumnies.  For 
months  past  the  effort  has  been  energetic  and 
continuous  to  spread  these  stories  in  private 


1 86  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

circles.  Emissaries  of  slander  have  visited 
editorial  rooms  of  leading  Republican  papers 
from  Boston  to  Omaha,  and  whispered  of  revela 
tions  to  come  that  were  too  terrible  even  to  be 
spoken  in  loud  tones,  and  at  last,  the  revelations 
have  been  made.  I  am  now,  Mr.  Speaker,  in  the 
fourteenth  year  of  a  not  inactive  service  in  this  hall ; 
I  have  taken  and  have  given  blows  ;  I  have  no 
doubt  said  many  things  in  the  heat  of  debate  that 
I  would  gladly  recall  ;  I  have  no  doubt  given  votes 
which  in  fuller  light  I  would  gladly  change  ;  but  I 
have  never  done  anything  in  my  public  career  for 
which  I  could  be  put  to  the  faintest  blush  in  any 
presence,  or  for  which  I  cannot  answer  to  my 
constituents,  my  conscience,  and  the  Great 
Searcher  of  Hearts." 

This  speech  was  considered,  by  the  majority  of 
unprejudiced  persons,  to  settle  the  whole  matter 
in  Mr.  Elaine's  favor.  His  explanations  were  so 
full  and  frank  as,  apparently,  to  leave  nothing 
more  to  be  desired  for  his  entire  vindication  against 
the  charges  preferred.  One  of  the  foremost  New 
York  journals,  Harper  s  Weekly,  which  was  by  no 
means  friendly  to  Mr.  Elaine,  said,  in  commenting 
upon  his  speech  and  the  accusation  to  which  it 
was  an  answer : 

"If  nobody  now  appears  to  justify  this  accusa 
tion,  it  must  be  considered  merely  one  of  the 
reckless  slanders  to  which  every  prominent  public 
man  is  exposed,  and  no  charge  that  may  be 


D  EAST  KG   WITH  SLANDER.  1 87 

hereafter  in;ido  against  Mr.  Blaine,  unaccompa 
nied  by  weighty  testimony,  will  deserve  any  at 
tention  whatever." 

Nobody  who  did  appear,  succeeded  in  justify 
ing  the  accusation.  Nevertheless,  attacks  were 
persistently  made  upon  him,  with  a  relentless 
malice  that  has  seldom  been  equalled  in  the  history 
of  American  politics.  As  the  date  of  the  Repub 
lican  National  Convention  drew  nearer,  and  all 
signs  pointed  more  certainly  to  the  choice  of  Mr. 
Blaine  as  its  candidate  for  Presidency,  the  at 
tacks  upon  him  increased  in  intensity  and  virulence. 
On  May  ist,  a  leading  New  York  newspaper  pub 
lished  a  statement  to  the  effect  that  Mr.  Blaine  had 
received,  as  a  gift,  certain  shares  in  the  Kansas 
Pacific  Railroad,  and  it  was  added  that  there  were 
positive  and  authentic  witnesses  to  that  effect,  and 
that,  at  that  very  time,  he  was  concerned  in  a  law 
suit  regarding  the  matter,  in  a  Kansas  court.  Mr. 
Blaine  immediately  secured  letters  from  the  wit 
nesses  referred  to,  who  were  well-known  lawyers 
and  newspaper  correspondents,  explicitly  denying 
that  they  had  any  knowledge  of  the  affair  what 
ever.  He  also  proved,  conclusively,  that  the  Mr. 
Blaine  who  was  interested  in  the  Kansas  lawsuit, 
was  not  himself,  but  his  brother,  John  E.  Blaine, 
who  had  settled  in  that  State  many  years  ago,  and 
who  had  purchased  the  stock  in  dispute  long  be- 
fjre  James  G.  Blaine  had  even  been  nominated 
for  Congress.  Thus  Mr.  Blaine  completely  refuted 


1 88  JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

this  second  charge  against  him,  concluding  his 
personal  explanation  in  the  House  as  follows  : 

"Having  now  noticed  the  two'  charges  that 
have  been  so  extensively  circulated,  I  shall  refrain 
from  calling  the  attention  of  the  House  to  any 
others  that  may  be  invented.  To  quote  the  lan 
guage  of  another,  '  I  do  not  propose  to  make  my 
public  life  a  perpetual  and  uncomfortable  flea-hunt, 
in  the  vain  efforts  to  run  down  stones  which  have 
no  basis  in  truth,  which  are  usually  anonymous, 
and  whose  total  refutation  brings  no  punishment 
to  those  who  have  been  guilty  of  originating 
them.'  " 

Thus  far  the  campaign  against  Mr.  Elaine  had 
only  succeeded  in  increasing  his  popularity  and 
his  strength  as  a  Presidential  candidate.  But  his 
enemies  did  not  slacken  their  hostile  efforts.  On 
the  very  next  day,  Mr.  Tarbox,  of  Massachusetts, 
introduced  in  the  House  a  resolution,  calling  for 
an  investigation  of  an  alleged  purchase  by  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company  of  certain  bonds 
of  the  Little  Rock  and  Fort  Smith  Railroad  Com 
pany,  fora  price  much  greater  than  their  real  value. 
The  Judiciary  Committee,  of  which  Mr.  Proctor 
Knott  was  chairman,  was  instructed  to  conduct 
the  investigation.  Mr.  Tarbox  explicitly  declared 
that  this  resolution  was  not  aimed  at  Mr.  Elaine, 
and  thus  secured  its  adoption  without  objection. 
The  moment  the  committee  began  its  work,  how 
ever,  it  was  evident  that  Mr.  Elaine  was  the  one 


DEALING   WITH  SLANDER.  189 

person  held  in  view,  and  the  investigation  was 
conducted  with  the  sole  object  of  injuring  his 
political  prospects.  He  did  not  complain  of  the 
investigation.  He  did  demand  that  it  should  be 
pushed  forward  promptly  and  thoroughly.  This 
demand  was  not,  however,  granted.  The  investi 
gation  was  made  to  drag  along  wearily,  with  the 
evident  intention  of  postponing  the  final  result 
until  after  the  Republican  Convention.  It  was 
reckoned  that  that  body  would  not  nominate  Mr. 
Elaine  for  the  Presidency  while  his  conduct  was 
actually  under  official  investigation.  Newspaper 
reports,  connecting  Mr.  Elaine  with  certain  trans 
actions  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad  Company, 
were  taken  up,  and  a  third  issue  against  him  was 
sought  in  what  was  known  as  the  "  Real  Estate 
Pool." 

The  most  striking  feature  of  this  whole  business 
was  the  bringing  forward  of  some  of  Mr.  Elaine's 
private  correspondence.  Two  witnesses,  named 
Fisher  and  Mulligan,  were  brought  on  from  Bos 
ton,  to  tell  what  they  knew.  Mulligan  had  been 
a  confidential  clerk,  and  had  abstracted  from 
among  a  mass  of  papers  to  which  he  had  access 
a  number  of  Mr.  Elaine's  letters,  which  were  said 
to  be  fatally  incriminating.  The  lovers  of  scandal 
at  Washington  and  throughout  the  country  were 
wild  with  delight  at  what  promised  to  be  a  fatal 
blow  at  Mr.  Elaine's  reputation.  Then  it  was 
suddenly  announced  that  Mr.  Elaine  had  rescued 


190  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

his  letters  from  the  grasp  of  Mulligan,  and  now 
had  them  in  his  own  pocket.  This  changed  the 
aspect  of  the  whole  affair.  It  was  thought  that  he 
had  secured  the  letters  in  order  to  prevent  their 
contents  from  being  made  public.  His  enemies 
exultantly  declared  that  this  was  positive  proof  of 
his  guilt,  and  his  friends,  for  the  moment,  were 
filled  with  dismay.  The  Judiciary  Committee  im 
mediately  made  a  demand  upon  him  that  he  give 
up  the  letters.  This  he  refused  to  do,  and  in  sup 
port  of  his  refusal,  produced  the  opinions  of  two 
of  the  most  eminent  lawyers  of  the  day,  ex-Judge 
Black,  a  Democrat,  and  the  Hon.  Matthew  H. 
Carpenter,  a  Republican,  to  the  effect  that  the 
letters  were  his  own,  and  that  no  power  could 
rightfully  compel  him  to  give  them  up.  The  com 
mittee  did  not  venture  to  insist  further  upon  their 
demand,  nor  even  to  report  to  the  House  his 
refusal  to  surrender  the  letters.  The  demand  and 
the  refusal  were,  however,  known  to  everybody, 
and  the  air  was  filled  with  innumerable  stories  of 
the  most  outrageous  character,  all  hostile  to  Mr. 
Elaine.  The  most  extravagant  statements  were 
made  concerning  the  contents  of  the  letters,  and 
since  Mr.  Elaine  had  refused  to  let  the  letters  be 
made  public,  no  denial  of  these  charges  could  be 
made  by  his  friends. 

The  5th  of  June  had  now  arrived.  In  a  few 
days  the  National  Republican  Convention  would 
meet  at  Cincinnati.  Mr.  Elaine's  enemies  were 


DEALING   WITH  SLANDER.  \g\ 

full  of  exultation,  and  his  friends  were  equally 
full  of  doubt  and  dismay.  Neither  friends  nor 
foes  had  any  idea  of  the  startling-  stroke  which  he 
was  about  to  deal  On  that  day  he  quietly  arose 
in  the  House  of  Representatives,  and  said  :  "  Mr. 
Speaker,  if  the  morning  hour  has  expired,  I  desire 
to  speak  on  a  question  of  privilege."  The 
Speaker  pro  tern,  replied  that  the  morning  hour 
had  expired  ;  whereupon  Mr.  Elaine  proceeded 
as  follows : 

"Mr.  Speaker,  on  the  second  day  of  May  this 
resolution  was  passed  by  the  House  : 

"'\VHEREAS,  it  is  publicly  alleged,  and  is  not 
denied  by  the  officers  of  the  Union  Pacific  Rail 
road  Company,  that  that  corporation  did,  in  the 
year  1871  or  1872,  become  the  owner  of  certain 
bonds  of  the  Little  Rock  and  Fort  Smith  Railroad 
Company,  for  which  bonds  the  said  Union  Pacific 
Railroad  Company  paid  a  consideration  largely  in 
excess  of  their  market  or  actual  value,  and  that 
the  board  of  directors  of  said  Union  Pacific  Rail 
road  Company,  though  urged,  have  neglected  to 
investigate  said  transaction  ;  therefore, 

"' Be  it  resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  the 
Judiciary  be  instructed  to  inquire  if  any  such 
transaction  took  place,  and,  if  so,  what  were  the 
circumstances  or  inducements  thereto,  from  what 
person  or  persons  said  bonds  were  obtained  and 
upon  what  consideration,  and  whether  the  trans 
action  was  from  corrupt  design  or  in  furtherance 


jQ2  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

of  any  corrupt  object  ;  and  that  the  committee 
have  power  to  send  for  persons  and  papers.' 

"That  resolution  on  its  face,  and  in  its  fair 
intent,  was  obviously  designed  to  find  out  whether 
any  improper  thing  had  been  done  by  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  Company  ;  and  of  course,  inci 
dentally  thereto,  to  find  out  with  whom  the  trans 
action  was  made. 

"  No  sooner  was  the  sub-committee  designated 
than  it  became  entirely  obvious  that  the  resolution 
was  solely  and  only  aimed  at  me.  I  think  there 
had  not  been  three  questions  asked  until  it  was 
evident  that  the  investigation  was  to  be  a  personal 
one  upon  me,  and  that  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad, 
or  any  other  incident  of  the  transaction,  was 
secondary,  insignificant  and  unimportant.  I  do 
not  complain  of  that ;  I  do  not  say  that  I  had  any 
reason  to  complain  of  it.  If  the  investigation 
was  to  be  made  in  that  personal  sense,  I  was 
ready  to  meet  it. 

"The  gentleman  on  whose  statement  the  ac 
cusation  rested  was  first  called.  He  stated  what 
he  knew  from  rumor.  Then  there  were  called 
Mr.  Rollins,  Mr.  Morton,  and,  Mr.  Millard,  from 
Omaha,  a  Government  director  of  the  Union 
Pacific  Road,  and  finally  Thomas  A.  Scott.  The 
testimony  was  completely  and  conclusively  in 
disproof  of  the  charge  that  there  was  any  possi 
bility  that  I  could  have  had  anything  to  do  with 
the  transaction.  When  the  famous  witness 


DEALIXG   WITH  SLANDER.  -  193 

Mulligan  came  here  loaded  with  information  in  re 
gard  to  the  Fort  Smith  Road,  the  gentleman  from 
Virginia  drew  out  what  he  knew  had  no  reference 
whatever  to  the  question  of  investigation.  He 
then  and  there  insisted  on  all  of  my  private  mem 
oranda  being  allowed  to  be  exhibited  by  that  man 
in  reference  to  business  that  had  no  more  connec 
tion,  no  more  relation,  no  more  to  do  with  that 
investigation  than  with  the  North  Pole. 

"  And  the  gentleman  tried  his  best,  also,  though 
I  believe  that  has  been  abandoned,  to  capture  and 
use  and  control  my  private  correspondence. 
This  man  has  selected,  out  of  correspondence 
running  over  a  great  many  years,  letters  which 
he  thought  would  be  peculiarly  damaging  to  me. 
He  came  here  loaded  with  them.  He  came  here 
for  a  sensation.  He  came  here  primed.  He  came 
here  on  that  particular  errand.  I  was  advised  of 
it,  and  I  obtained  those  letters  under  circumstances 
which  have  been  notoriously  scattered  over  the 
United  States,  and  are  known  to  everybody.  I 
have  them.  I  claim  that  I  have  the  entire  riidit  to 

o 

those  letters,  not  only  by  natural  right,  but  by  all 
the  principles  and  precedents  of  law,  as  the  man 
who  held  those  letters  in  possession  held  them 
wrongfully.  The  committee  that  attempted  to 
take  those  letters  from  that  man,  for  use  against 
me,  proceeded  wrongfully.  It  proceeded  in  all 
boldness  to  a  most  defiant  violation  of  the  ordinary 
private  and  personal  rights  which  belong  to  every 


JAMES  G.  J3LAINE. 

American  citizen.  I  wanted  the  gentleman  from 
Kentincky  and  the  gentleman  from  Virginia  to 
introduce  that  question  upon  this  floor,  but  they 
did  not  do  it. 

"I  stood  up  and  declined,  not  only  on  the  con 
clusions  of  my  own  mind,  but  by  eminent  legal 
advice.  I  was  standing  behind  the  rights  which 
belong  to  every  American  citizen,  and  if  they 
wanted  to  treat  the  question  in  my  person  any 
where  in  the  legislative  halls  or  judicial  halls,  I 
was  ready.  Then  there  went  forth  everywhere1 
the  idea  and  impression  that  because  I  wrould  not 
permit  that  man,  or  any  man  whom  I  could  prevent 
from  holding  as  a  menace  over  my  head  my 
private  correspondence,  there  must  be  in  it  some 
thing  deadly  and  destructive  to  my  reputation.  I 
would  like  any  gentleman  to  stand  up  here  and 
tell  me  that  he  is  willing  and  ready  to  have  his 
private  correspondence  scanned  over  and  made 
public  for  the  last  eight  or  ten  years.  I  would 
like  any  gentleman  to  say  that.  Does  it  imply 
guilt?  Does  it  imply  wrong-doing?  Does  it 
imply  any  sense  of  weakness  that  a  man  will  pro 
tect  his  private  correspondence?  No,  sir;  it  is 
the  first  instinct  to  do  it,  and  it  is  the  last  outrage 
upon  any  man  to  violate  it. 

"  Now,  Mr.  Speaker,  I  say  that  I  have  defied 
the  power  of  the  House  to  compel  me  to  produce 
these  letters.  I  speak  with  all  respect  to  this 
House.  I  know  its  powers,  and  I  trust  I  respect 


DEAIJXG   WITH  SLANDER.  195 

them.  But  I  say  that  this  House  has  no  more 
power  to  order  what  shall  be  done  or  not  done 
with  rny  private  correspondence,  than  it  has  with 
what  I  shall  do  in  the  nurture  and  education  of  my 
children,  not  a  particle.  The  right  is  as  sacred  in 
the  one  case  as  it  is  in  the  other.  But,  sir,  having 
vindicated  that  right,  standing  by  it,  ready  to  make 
any  sacrifice  in  defence  of  it,  here  and  now,  if  any 
gentleman  wants  to  take  issue  with  me  on  behalf 
of  this  House,  I  am  ready  for  any  extremity  of 
contest  or  conflict  in  behalf  of  so  sacred  a  right. 
And  while  I  am  so,  I  am  not  afraid  to  show  the 
letters.  Thank  God  Almighty,  I  am  not  ashamed 
to  show  them.  There  they  are  (holding  up  a 
package  of  letters).  There  is  the  very  original 
package.  And  with  some  sense  of  humiliation, 
with  a  mortification  I  do  not  attempt  to  conceal, 
with  a  sense  of  the  outrage  which  I  think  any  man 
in  my  position  would  feel,  I  invite  the  confidence 
of  forty-four  millions  of  my  countrymen,  while  I 
read  those  letters  from  this  desk.  (Applause.) 

:•:  :•:  &  *  :•:  :•:  # 

"  This  is  the  letter  in  which  Mulligan  says,  and 
puts  down  in  his  abstract,  that  I  admitted  the  sixty- 
four  thousand  dollar  sale  of  bonds  : 

'"WASHINGTON,  D.  C,  April  18,  1872. 

"'  My  dear  Mr.  Fisher  : — I  answered  you  very  hastily  last  evening,  as 
you  said  you  wished  for  nn  immediate  reply,  and  perhaps  in  my  hurry  I 
did  not  make  myself  fully  understood.  You  have  been,  for  some  time, 
laboring  under  a  toia'ly  erroneous  impression  in  regard  to  my  results  in  the 
Fort  Smith  matter.  The  sales  of  bonds  which  you  spoke  of  my  making, 


J96  fAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

and  which  you  seem  to  have  thought  were  for  my  own  benefit,  were  entirely 
otherwise.  I  did  Dot  have  the  money  in  my  possession  forty-eight  hours* 
but  paid  it  over  directly  to  the  parties  whom  I  tried,  by  every  means  in  my 
power,  to  protect  from  loss.  I  a:n  very  sure  that  you  have  little  id:a  of  the? 
labors,  the  losses,  the  efforts  and  the  sacrifices  I  have  made  within  the  past 
year  to  save  those  innocent  persons,  who  invested  on  my  request,  from  per 
sonal  loss. 

"  '  And  I  say  to  you  to-night,  that  I  am  immeasurably  worse  off  than  if 
I  had  never  touched  the  Fort  Smith  matter.  The  demand  you  m  ike  upon 
me  now  is  one  which  I  am  entirely  unable  to  comply  with.  I  cannot  d  >  il. 
It  is  not  in  my  power.  You  say  that  '•  necessity  knows  no  law/'  Th  it 
applies  to  me  as  well  as  to  you,  and  when  I  have  reached  the  point  I  am 
now.  at,  I  simply  fall  back  on  that  law.  You  are  as  well  aware  as  I  am,  that 
the  bonds  are  due  me  under  the  contract.  Could  I  have  them,  I  could  a.'just 
many  matters  not  now  in  my  power,  and  as  long  as  this  and  other  ma'tcrs 
remain  unadjusted  between  us,  I  do  not  recognize  the  equity,  or  the  lawful 
ness,  of  your  calling  on  me  for  a  partial  settlement.  I  am  re  a  'y  nt  any 
moment  to  make  a  full,  fair,  comprehensive  settlement  with  you,  on  the  most 
liberal  terms.  I  will  not  be  exacting  or  captious  or  critical,  but  am  ready 
and  eager  to  make  a  broad  and  generous  adjustment  with  you,  and  if  we 
can't  agree  ourselves,  we  can  select  a  mutual  friend  who  can  easily  com 
promise  c.11  points  of  difference  between  us. 

" '  You  will,  I  trust,  see  that  I  arn  disposed  to  meet  you  in  a  spirit  of 
friendly  cordiality,  and  yet  wi'.h  a  sense  of  self-defence  that  impels  me  to  be 
frank  and  expose  to  you  my  pecuniary  weakness. 

"  *  With  very  1  ind  regards  to  Mrs.  Fisher,  I  am  yours  truly, 

"'J.  G.  BLAINE. 

««  W.  FISHER,  JR.,  ESQ.' 

r  * 

"I  now  pass  to  a  letter  dated  Augusta,  Me., 
October  4,  1869,  but  I  read 'these  letters  now 
somewhat  in  their- order.  Now  to  this  letter  I  ask 
the  attention  of  the  House.  In  the  March  session 
of  1869,  the  first  one  at  which  I  was  speaker,  the 
extra  session  of  the  Forty-first  Congress,  a  land 
grant  in  the  State  of  Arkansas  to  the  Little  Rock 
Road  was  reported.  I  never  remember  to  have 
heard  of  the  road,  until  at  the  last  night  of  the 


DEALING    WITH  SLANDER.  197 

session,  when  it  was  up  here  for  consideration. 
The  gentlemen  in  Boston  with  whom  I  had  rela 
tions  did  not  have  anything  to  do  with  that  road 
for  nearly  three  or  four  months  after  that  time.  It 
is  in  the  light  of  that  statement  that  I  desire  that 
letter  read. 

"In  the  autumn,  six  or  eight  months  afterward, 
I  was  looking  over  the  Globe,  probably  with  some 
curiosity,  if  not  pride,  to  see  the  decisions  I  had 
made  the  first  five  weeks  I  was  speaker.  I  had 
not  until  then  recalled  this  decision  of  mine,  and 
when  I  came  across  it,  all  the  facts  came  back  to 
me  fresh,  and  I  wrote  this  letter  : 

(Personal.) 

"  'AucusTA,  ME.,  October  4,  1869. 

"*My  Dear  Sir: — I  spoke  to  you  a  short  time  ago  about  a  point  of 
interest  to  your  railroad  company  that  occurred  at  the  last  session  of  the 
Congress. 

"' It  was  on  the  last  night  of  the  session,  when  the  bill  renewing  the 
land  grant  to  the  State  of  Arkansas  for  the  Little  Rock  Road  was  reached, 
and  Julian,  of  Indiana,  chairman  of  the  Public  Lands  Committee,  and,  by 
right,  entitled  to  the  floor,  attempted  to  put  on  the  bill  as  an  amendment, 
the  Fremont  El  Paso  scheme— a  scheme  probably  well  known  to  Mr.  Cald- 
well.  The  House  was  thin,  and  the  lobby  in  the  Fremont  interest  had  the 
thing  all  set  up,  and  Julian's  amendment  was  likely  to  prevail  if  brought  to 
a  vote.  Roots,' and  the  other  members  from  Arkansas,  \vho  were  doing 
their  best  for  their  own  bill  (to  which  there  seemed  to  be  no  objection),  were 
in  despair,  for  it  was  well  known  that  the  Senate  was  hostile  to  the  P>emont 
scheme,  and  if  the  Arkansas  bill  had  gone  back  to  the  Senalfe  with  Julian's 
amendments,  the  whole  thing  could  have  gone  on  the  table  and  slept  the 
sleep  of  death. 

" '  In  this  dilemma,  Roots  came  to  me  to  know  what  on  earth  he  could 
do  under  the  rules;  for  he  said  it  was  vital  to  his  constituents  that  the  bill 
should  pass.  I  told  him  that  Julian's  amendment  was  entirely  out  of  order; 
because  not  germane;  but  he  had  not  sufficient  confidence  in  his  own  know., 
edge  of  the  rules  to  make  the  point,  but  he  said  General  Logan  was  opposed 


198  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

to  the  Fremont  scheme  and  would  probably  make  the  point.  I  sent  my 
page  to  General  Logan  with  the  suggestion,  and  he  at  once  made  the  point. 
I  could  not  do  otherwise  than  sustain  it,  and  so  the  bill  was  freed  from  the  mis 
chievous  amendment  moved  by  Julian,  and  at  once  passed  without  objection. 
"  'At  that  time  I  had  never  seen  Mr.  Caldwell,  but  you  can  tell  him  that 
without  knowing  it,  I  did  him  a  great  favor. 

"  '  Sincerely  yours, 

"'J.  G.  ELAINE. 
"'W.  FISHER,  JR.,  ESQ., 

"  •  24  India  Street,  Boston.' 

"The  amendment  referred  to  in  that  letter  will 
be  found  in  The  Congressional  Globe  of  the  First 
Session  of  the  Forty-first  Congress,  page  702. 
That  was  before  the  Boston  persons  had  ever 
touched  the  road. 


"  There  is  mentioned  in  another  letter  $6,000 
of  land-grant  bonds  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad 
for  which  I  stood  as  only  part  owner;  these  were 
only  in  part  mine.  As  I  have  started  to  make  a 
personal  explanation,  I  want  to  make  a  full  ex 
planation  in  regard  to  this  matter.  Those  bonds 
were  not  mine  except  in  this  sense  :  In  1869,  a 
lady  who  is  a  member  of  my  family  and  whose 
financial  affairs  I  have  looked  after  for  many  years 
— many  gentlemen  will  know  to  whom  I  refer 
without  my  being  more  explicit— bought,  on  the 
recommendation  of  Mr.  Hooper,  $6,000  in  land- 
grant  bonds  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  as  they 
were  issued  in  1869.  She  got  them  on  what  was 
called  the  stockholder's  basis  ;  I  think  it  was  a 
very  favorable  basis  on  which  they  distributed 


C/ 


DEALING   WITH  SLANDER.  2OI 

the  bonds.  These  $6,000  of  land-grant  bonds 
were  obtained  in  that  way. 

"In  1871,  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  Company 
broke  down,  and  these  bonds  fell  so  that  they 
were  worth  about  forty  cents  on  the  dollar.  She 
was  anxious  to  make  herself  safe,  and  I  had  so 
much  confidence  in  the  Fort  Smith  land  bonds, 
that  I  proposed  to  her  to  make  an  exchange.^  The 
six  bonds  were  in  my  possession,  and  I  had  pre 
viously  advanced  money  to  her  for  certain  pur 
poses,  and  held  a  part  of  these  bonds  as  security 
for  that  advance.  The  bonds,  in  that  sense,  and 
in  that  sense  only,  were  mine — that  they  were 
security  for  the  loan  which  I  had  made.  They 
were  all  literally  hers  ;  they  were  all  sold  finally 
for  her  account — not  one  of  them  for  me.  I  make 
this  statement  in  order  to  be  perfectly  fair. 

"  I  have  now  read  these  fifteen  letters,  the  whole 
of  them  ;  the  House  and  the  country  now  know 
all  there  is  in  them.  They  are  dated,  and  they 
correspond  precisely  with  Mulligan's  memorandum 
which  I  have  here. 

"  I  do  not  wish  to  detain  the  House,  but  I  have 
one  or  two  more  observations  to  make.  The 
specific  charge  that  went  to  the  committee,  as  it 
affects  me,  is  whether  I  was  a  party  in  interest  to 
the  $64,000  transaction  ;  and  I  submit  that  up  to 
this  time  there  has  not  been  one  particle  of  proof 

before   the   committee,    sustaining    that    charge. 
12 


202  JAMES   G.  BLAINE. 

Gentlemen  have  said  that  they  heard  some 
body  else  say,  and  generally,  when  that  somebody 
else  was  brought  on  the  stand,  it  appeared  that  he 
did  not  say  it  at  all.  Colonel  Thomas  A.  Scott 
swore  very  positively  and  distinctly,  under  the 
most  rigid  cross-examination,  all  about  it.  Let 
me  call  attention  to  that  letter  of  mine  which 
Mulligan  says  refers  to  that.  I  ask  your  attention, 
gentlemen,  as  closely  as  if  you  were  a  jury,  while 
I  show  the  absurdity  of  that  statement.  It  is  in 
evidence  that,  with  the  exception  of  a  small  frac 
tion,  the  bonds  which  were  sold  to  parties  in 
Maine  were  first  mortgage  bonds.  It  is  in  evi 
dence,  over  and  over  again,  that  the  bonds  which 
went  to  the  Union  Pacific  Road  were  land-errant 

o 

bonds.  Therefore,  it  is  a  moral  impossibility  that 
the  bonds  taken  up  to  Maine  should  have  gone  to 
the  Union  Pacific  Railroad.  They  were  of  differ 
ent  series,  different  kinds,  different  colors,  every 
thing  different,  as  different  as  if  not  issued  within 
a  thousand  miles  of  each  other.  So  on  its  face, 
it  is  shown  that  it  could  not  be  so. 

"There  has  not  been,  I  say,  one  positive  piece 
of  testimony  in  any  direction.  They  sent  to 
Arkansas  to  get  some  hearsay  about  bonds. 
They  sent  to  Boston  to  get  some  hearsay.  Mul 
ligan  was  contradicted  by  Fisher,  and  Atkins  and 
Scott  swore  directly  against  him.  Morton,  of 
Morton,  Bliss  &  Co.,  never  heard  my  name  in  the 
matter.  Carnegee,  who  negotiated  the  note, 


DEALING   WITH  SLANDER.  303 

never  heard  my  name  in  that  connection.  Rollins 
said  it  was  one  of  the  intangible  rumors  he  spoke 
of  as  floating  in  the  air.  Gentlemen  who  have 
lived  any  time  in  Washington,  need  not  be  told 
that  intangible  rumors  get  very  considerable  cir 
culation  here  ;  and  if  a  man  is  to  be  held  account 
able  before  the  bar  of  public  opinion  for  intangible 
rumors,  who  in  the  House  will  stand? 

"Now,  gentlemen,  those  letters  I  have  read 
were  picked  out  of  correspondence  extending 
over  fifteen  years.  The  man  did  his  worst,  the 
very  worst  he  could,  out  of  the  most  intimate 
business  correspondence  of  my  life.  I  ask,  gen 
tlemen,  if  any  of  you,  and  I  ask  it  with  some 
feeling,  can  stand  a  severer  scrutiny  of,  or  more 
rigid  investigation  into,  your  private  correspond 
ence  ?  That  was  the  worst  he  could  do. 

"There  is  one  piece  of  testimony  wanting. 
There  is  but  one  thing  to  close  the  complete  circle 
of  evidence.  There  is  but  one  witness  whom  I 
could  not  have,  to  whom  the  Judiciary  Committee, 
taking  into  account  the  great  and  intimate  connec 
tion  he  had  with  the  transaction,  was  asked  to 
send  a  cable  despatch,  and  I  ask  the  gentleman 
from  Kentucky  if  that  cable  despatch  was  sent 
to  him?" 

Mr.  Frye.     Who  ? 

Mr.  Elaine.     To  Josiah  Caldwell. 

Mr.  Knott.  I  will  reply  to  the  gentleman  that 
Judge  Hamton  and  myself  have  both  endeavored 


204  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

to  get  Mr.  Caldwell's  address,  and  have  not  yet 
got  it. 

Mr.  Elaine.  Has  the  gentleman  from  Kentucky 
received  a  despatch  from  Mr.  Caldwell  ? 

Mr.  Knott.     I  will  explain  that  directly. 

Mr.  Blaine.      I  want  a  categorical  answer. 

o 

Mr.  Kn0tt.  I  have  received  a  despatch  pur 
porting  to  be  from  Mr.  Caldwell. 

Mr.  Blaine.     You  did  ? 

Mr.  Knott.      How  did  you  know  I  got  it  ? 

Mr.  Blaine.  When  did  you  get  it  ?  I  want  the 
gentleman  from  Kentucky  to  answer  when  he 
got  it. 

Mr.  Knott.     Answer  my  question  first. 

Mr.  Blaine.     I  never  heard  of  it  until  yesterday. 

Mr.  Knott.      How  did  you  hear  it  ? 

Mr.  Blaine.  I  heard  that  you  got  a  despatch 
las*  Thursday  morning,  at  eight  o'clock,  from 
Josiah  Caldwell,  completely  and  absolutely  ex 
onerating  me  from  this  charge,  and  you  have 
suppressed  it.  (Protracted  applause  upon  the  Moor 
and  in  the  galleries.)  I  want  the^  gentleman  to 
answer.  (After  a  pause.)  Does  the  gentleman 
from  Kentucky  decline  to  answer  ? 

"The  gentleman  from  Kentucky  in  responding 
probably,  I  think,  from  what  he  said,  intended  to 
convey  the  idea  that  I  had  some  illegitimate 
knowledge  of  how  that  despatch  was  obtained.  I 
have  had  no  communication  with  Josiah  Caldwell. 
I  have  had  no  means  of  knowing  from  the  telegraph 


DEALING   WITH  SLANDER.  205 

office  whether  the  despatch  was  received.  But 
I  tell  the  gentleman  from  Kentucky  that  mur 
der  will  out,  and  secrets  will  leak.  And  I  tell 
the  gentleman  now,  and  I  am  prepared  to  state  to 
this  House,  that  at  eight  o'clock  on  last  Thursday 
morning,  or  thereabouts,  the  gentleman  from 
Kentucky  received  and  receipted  for  a  message 
addressed  to  him  from  Josiah  Caldwell,  in  London, 
entirely  corroborating  and  substantiating  the 
statements  of  Thomas  A.  Scott,  which  he  had 
just  read  in  the  New  York  papers,  and  entirely 
exculpating  me  from  the  charge  which  I  am  bound 
to  believe,  from  the  suppression  of  that  report, 
that  the  gentleman  is  anxious  to  fasten  upon  me." 
(Protracted  applause  from  the  floor  and  galleries.) 
No  description  can  do  justice  to  the  tremen 
dous  scene  in  the  House  of  Representatives  at  the 
culmination  of  this  address,  or  to  the  profound 
impression  produced  by  it  throughout  the  country. 
The  House  was  literally  thunderstruck  at  Mr. 
Elaine's  magnificent  courage  and  audacity,  as 
well  as  by  his  frankness,  in  thus  producing  and 
publicly  reading  the  suppressed  letters,  the  very 
letters  that  the  man  Mulligan  had  abstracted  and 
had  brought  to  Washington  with  such  a  prodigious 
flourish  of  trumpets,  the  very  letters  which  Mr. 
Elaine  had  recovered  from  him  and  for  the  time 
being  had  sternly  suppressed,  the  very  letters 
which,  whiTe  they  were  suppressed,  had  been 
advertised  by  Mr.  Elaine's  enemies  as  teeming 


JAMES  G.   8LAINE. 

with  indubitable  evidence  of  his  guilt.  It  was 
clear  to  every  fair-minded  man,  as  he  read  them, 
one  by  one,  that  there  was  not  a  word  in  them  in 
the  least  degree  reflecting  upon  his  absolute 
integrity.  These  letters  had  been  picked,  with 
almost  devilish  ingenuity,  out  of  a  voluminous 
correspondence  extending  over  many  years,  and 
had  been  carefully  separated  from  the  context  of 
correspondence  that  would  explain  them  and  show 
their  innocent  nature.  "The  man,"  said  Mr. 
Elaine  justly,  "did  his  worst,  the  very  worst  he 
could  do."  But  that  worst  not  only  fell  harmless  : 
it  rebounded  with  fatal  force  against  its  malicious 
and  despicable  author. 

The  climax  of  the  scene,  however,  was  in  the 
direct  passage  of  arms  with  Mr.  Knott.  There 
was  lacking  one  witness  who  could  affirmatively 
have  proved  Mr.  Elaine's  entire  innocence.  This 
was  Mr.  Josiah  Caldwell,  who  was  then  travelling 
in  Europe.  He  possessed  exact  knowledge  of  all 
the  transactions  in  question,  and  was  able  abund 
antly  to  vindicate  Mr.  Elaine's  integrity.  Mr. 
Elaine  did  not  know  his  address,  and  therefore 
could  not  communicate  with  him  by  cable.  Eut 
Mr.  Knott  had  ascertained  his  address,  and  had 
communicated  with  him  in  hope  that  his  evidence 
would  be  hostile  to  Mr.  Elaine.  It  proved  to  be 
exactly  the  reverse,  and  the  Judiciary  Committee 
thereupon  suppressed  his  despatch.  When  Mr. 
Elaine  asked  Mr.  Knott  if  he  had  not  received 


DEALING  WITH  SLANDER.  2O/ 

such  a  despatch,  Mr.  Knott  endeavored  to  evade 
the  question.  But  the  question,  and  Mr.  Knott's 
evident  disinclination  to  answer  it,  wrought  the 
interest  of  the  Members  of  the  House  and  the 
spectators  in  the  galleries  up  to  the  highest  pitch. 
And  when,  at  last,  Mr.  Elaine,  all  ablaze  with 
righteous  wrath,  strode  down  the  aisle  of  the 
House,  and  launched  full  in  the  faces  of  his  per 
secutors  the  tremendous  accusation,  "You  have 
received  from  Josiah  Caldwell  a  despatch  com 
pletely  and  absolutely  exonerating  me,  and  you 
have  suppressed  it !''  the  words,  the  gesture, 
the  expression  of  the  indignant  and  triumphant 
man  on  trial,  and  the  confusion  of  his  overwhelmed 
prosecutor,  all  together  formed  a  dramatic  scene 
without  parallel  in  the  history  of  the  House.  A 
wild  storm  of  applause  broke  from  the  floor  and 
the  galleries,  which  the  presiding  officer  was  pow 
erless  to  quell.  All  the  proceedings  that  followed 
were  merely  perfunctory.  That  one  supreme 
moment  settled  the  controversy.  Thereafter  Mr. 
Elaine's  enemies. growled  and  carped  against  him 
in  impotent  rage.  The  verdict  of  the  Committee 
was  a  negative  one,  instead  of  the  affirmative 
acquittal  to  which  Mr.  Elaine  was  evidently  en 
titled.  But  the  unanimous  verdict  of  unprejudiced 
public  opinion  was  overwhelmingly,  affirmatively 
and  enthusiastically  in  Mr.  Elaine's  favor.  The 
envenomed  attacks  upon  Mr.  Elaine,  with  which 
the  press  had  teemed,  were  now  rivalled  by  the 


2o8  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

ridicule,  contempt  and  denunciation  that  were 
poured  upon  Knott  and  Mulligan.  And  while 
Mr.  Elaine  failed  to  receive  the  Presidential  nomi 
nation  at  Cincinnati,  he  had  the  satisfaction  of 
securing,  at  Washington,  such  a  vindication  as  few 
public  men  under  serious  charges  have  ever 
enjoyed,  and  of  bringing  upon  his  enemies  a  con 
fusion,  a  confutation,  and  a  dishonor,  from  which 
they  have  never  recovered. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE    SENATOR. 

A.  Prominent  Position  Quickly  Taken  in  tke  Upper  Chamber — Opposition 
to  the  Electoral  Commission  and  to  the  Southern  Surrender  Policy  of 
President  Hayes — Discussion  of  the  Southern  Elections  Question — 
Opposition  to  the  Bland  Silver  Bill — Restriction  of  Chinese  Immigra 
tion — Defeating  a  Democratic  Conspiracy  in  Maine— The  Shipping 
Interests  of  the  Nation. 

Senator  Morrill,  of  Maine,  resigned  his  place  in 
Congress  in  July,  1876,  in  order  to  become  Sec 
retary  of  the  Treasury,  and  on  the  tenth  of  that 
month  the  Governor  appointed  Mr.  Elaine  to  suc 
ceed  him  in  the  Senate.  There  were  many  among 
his  friends  who  at  first  regretted  this  transfer  of  the 
brilliant  Representative  to  the  Upper  House.  In 
his  old  place  he  was  the  unrivalled  leader  of  his 
party,  and  his  talents  shone  their  brightest  in  the 
fierce  battles  that  raged  in  the  popular  assembly. 
But  in  the  more  conservative  and  dignified  Senate, 
it  was  thought,  he  would  be  at  a  disadvantage. 
His  dashing  style  would  be  out  of  place  there, 
and  he  would  be  outranked  and  cast  into  the 
shade  by  the  accomplished  statesmen  who  held 
sway  there. 

But  they  were  ill-advised  who  had  such  fears. 
They  underrated  their  man.  They  failed  to  do 
justice  to  his  versatility,  and  to  the  substantial 
209 


2  JO  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

foundation  of  thorough  scholarship  that  underlay 
the  dazzling  superstructure  of  his  popular  fame. 
And  they  were  soon  undeceived.  Mr.  Elaine  did 
not  wait  long  before  he  showed  himself  the  pos 
sessor  of  a  full  degree  of  Senatorial  dignity,  and 
compelled  doubters  and  critics  to  recognize  in 
him  a  statesman  as  sagacious  as  he  was  brilliant, 
and  well  worthy  to  rank  among  the  greatest  of 
those  who  have  made  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States  illustrious. 

There  is  an  unwritten  law  of  the  Senate  that 
requires  a  new  member  to  remain  for  a  time  in 
the  background ;  perhaps  seen,  but  surely  not 
heard.  He  must  sit  at  the  feet  of  his  elders  and 
learn  of  them,  before  he  may  rise  and  take  part 
in  the  grave  deliberations  of  that  august  body. 
Mr.  Elaine  did  not  heed  this  rule.  He  did  not 
make  haste  to  place  himself  conspicuously  before 
the  Senate.  But  the  moment  there  was  need  of 
him,  the  moment  his  duty  to  his  country  prompted 
him  to  participate  in  debate,  he  did  so  without 
hesitation.  He  spoke,  moreover,  not  as  a  nov 
ice,  but  as  an  "old  Parliamentary  hand."  His 
air  was  that  of  a  Senator  of  more  years'  service 
than  he  had  seen  weeks.  And  so  did  he  acquit 
himself,  with  such  modesty,  yet  authority,  with 
such  force,  yet  dignity,  that  his  appearance  was 
welcomed  by  even  the  greatest  sticklers  for  prece 
dent,  and  he  was  at  once  recognized  as  a  leader  in 
the  Senate,  as  he  had  been  in  the  Ho%use. 


THE  SENATOR.  211 

One  striking-  episode  of  his  Senatorial  career  is 
treated  in  a  separate  chapter — his  participation 
in  the  deadlock  debate  over  the  President's  right 
to  employ  the  army  to  keep  the  peace  and  to 
enforce  the  laws  at  the  polls  when  a  Federal 
election  was  in  progress.  During  his  service  in 
the  Senate  many  important  measures  came  before 
that  House  for  consideration,  and  upon  the  mall 
he  expressed  himself  with  his  accustomed  frank 
ness  and  force. 

When  the  famous  dispute  arose  over  the  count 
ing-  of  the  electoral  votes  for  President  and  Vice- 
President,  he  was  a  steadfast  believer  in  the 
rightful  triumph  of  the  Republican  candidates. 
He  looked  with  pronounced  disfavor,  however, 
upon  the  Electoral  Commission,  as  a  device  not 
warranted  by  the  Constitution,  and  beyond  the 
authority  of  Congress  to  create.  "lam  not  pre 
pared,"  he  said,  "to  vest  any  body  of  men  with 
the  tremendous  power  which  this  bill  gives  to 
fourteen  gentlemen,  four  of  whom  are  to  com 
plete  their  number  by  selecting  a  fifteenth.  I  do 
not  believe  that  Congress  itself  has  the  power 
which  it  proposes  to  confer  on  these  fifteen  gen 
tlemen."  The  bill  establishing  the  Electoral 
Commission  was,  however,  adopted  and  Mr. 
Elaine  cordially  concurred  in  the  result. 

He  was  in  general  a  supporter  of  the  adminis 
tration  of  President  Hayes,  but  he  strongly  dis 
approved  its  policy  in  recognizing  the  Democratic 


212  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

State  Governments  in  South  Carolina  and  Lou 
isiana  in  the  spring  of  1877.  In  his  view  of  the 
case,  that  was  a  surrender  of  the  rights  of  the 
majority  to  the  demands  of  an  aggressive  and 
law-defying  minority.  On  this  subject  he  spoke 
more  than  once  in  the  Senate  in  no  uncertain 
tones.  In  December,  1878,  he  brought  forward 
and  supported  in  a  powerful  speech  a  resolution 
which  had  the  two- fold  purpose  of  placing  on 
record,  in  a  definite  and  authentic  form,  the  frauds 
and  outrages  by  which  some  recent  elections  had 
been  carried  by  the  Democratic  party  in  the 
Southern  States,  and  of  finding  if  there  were  any 
method  by  which  a  repetition  of  these  crimes 
against  a  free  ballot  might  be  prevented.  "We 
know,"  he  said,  "that  one  hundred  and  six  Rep 
resentatives  in  Congress  were  recently  chosen  in 
the  States  formerly  slave  holding,  and  that  the 
Democrats  elected  one  hundred  and  one,  or  pos 
sibly  one  hundred  and  two,  and  the  Republicans 
four,  or  possibly  five.  We  know  that  thirty-five 
of  these  Representatives  were  assigned  to  the 
Southern  States  by  reason  of  the  colored  popula 
tion,  and  that  the  entire  political  power  thus  found 
ed  on  the  numbers  of  the  colored  people  has 
been  seized  and  appropriated  to  the  aggrandize 
ment  of  its  own  strength  by  the  Democratic  party 
of  the  South. 

"The  issue  thus  raised  before   the  country  is 
not  one  of  mere  sentiment  for  the  rights  of  the 


THE  SENATOR.  213 

negro  ;  though  far  distant  be  the  day  when  the 
rights  of  any  American  citizen,  however  black  or 
however  poor,  shall  form  the  mere  dust  of  the 
balance  in  any  controversy ;  nor  is  the  issue  one 
that  involves  the  waving  of  the  '  bloody  shirt ',  to 
quote  the  elegant  vernacular  of  Democratic  vitu 
peration  ;  nor  still  further  is  the  issue  only  a  ques 
tion  of  the  equality  of  the  black  voter  of  the  South 
with  the  white  voter  of  the  South.  The  issue  has 
taken  a  far  wider  range,  one  of  portentous  magni 
tude,  and  that  is,  whether  the  white  voter  of  the 
North  shall  be  equal  to  the  white  voter  of  the 
South  in  shaping  the  policy  and  fixing- the  destiny 
of  this  country. 

"Let  me  illustrate  my  meaning.  South  Caro 
lina,  Mississippi  and  Louisiana  send  seventeen 
Representatives  to  Congress.  Their  aggregate 
population  is  1,035,000  whites  and  1,224,000  col 
ored.  Of  the  seventeen  Representatives,  nine 
were  apportioned  to  these  States  by  reason  of 
their  colored  population  and  only  eight  by  reason 
of  their  white  population  ;  and  yet,  in  the  choice 
of  the  entire  seventeen  Representatives,  the  col 
ored  voters  had  no  more  voice  or  power  than 
their  remote  kindred  on  the  shores  of  Senegam- 
bia.  In  contrast,  take  two  States  in  the  North, 
Iowa  and  Wisconsin,  with  seventeen  Representa 
tives.  They  have  a  white  population  of  2,247,- 
ooo,  considerably  more  than  double  the  entire 
white  population  of  the  three  Southern  States  I 


214  JAMES  G.   BLAJNE. 

have  named.  In  Iowa  and  Wisconsin,  therefore, 
it  takes  132,000  white  population  to  send  a  Rep 
resentative  to  Congress,  but  in  South  Carolina, 
Mississippi  and  Louisiana'  every  60,000  white 
people  send  a  Representative.  In  other  words, 
60,000  white  people  in  the  Southern  States  have 
precisely  the  same  political  power  in  the  govern 
ment  of  the  country  that  132,000  white  people 
have  in  the  North.  In  levying  every  tax,  there 
fore,  in  making  every  appropriation  of  money, 
in  fixing  every  line  of  public  policy,  in  decreeing 
what  shall  be  the  fate  and  fortune  of  the  Republic, 
the  Confederate  soldier  South  is  enabled  to  cast 
a  vote  that  is  twice  as  powerful  and  twice  as  in 
fluential  as  the  vote  of  the  Union  soldier 
North.  The  white  men  of  the  South  did  not 
acquire  and  do  not  hold  this  superior  power  by 
reason  of  law  or  justice,  but  in  disregard  and  de 
fiance  of  both. 

"  The  seizure  of  this  power  is  wanton  usurpa 
tion  ;  it  is  flagrant  outrage  ;  it  is  violent  perver 
sion  of  the  whole  theory  of  Republican  govern 
ment.  And  this  injustice  is  wholly  unprovoked. 
*  *  But  whenever  a  protest  is  made  against 
such  injustice,  the  response  we  get  comes  to  us 
in  the  form  of  a  taunt,  *  What  are  you  going  to  do 
about  it?'  and  'How  do  you  propose  to  help 
yourselt  ?'  This  is  the  stereotyped  answer  of  de 
fiance  which  intrenched  Wrong  always  gives  to 
inquiring  Justice  ;  and  those  who  imagine  it  to  be 


THE  SENATOR.  21$ 

conclusive  do  not  know  the  temper  of  the  Ameri 
can  people.  " 

Early  in  his  Senatorial  career  the  currency 
question,  which  he  had  already  discussed  in  the 
House,  came  up.  The  Senate  had  under  con 
sideration  the  bill  originated  by  Mr.  Bland  in  the 
House  of  Representatives,  providing  for  the 
coinage  of  silver  dollars  of  412*^  grains,  the  same 
to  be  legal  tender.  To  this  measure  Mr.  Elaine 
expressed  strong  opposition,  although  many  of 
his  party  associates  favored  it.  He  argued  that 
it  was  grossly  unjust  to  coin  a  dollar  of  such  a 
weight,  containing  only  90  or  92  cents'  worth  of 
silver,  and  make  it  a  legal  tender  for  debts  con 
tracted  to  be  paid  in  dollars  of  100  cents.  Seeing 
that  the  bill  was  bound  to  pass,  he  strove  to 
amend  it  so  as  to  provide  for  a  dollar  of  425 
grains.  Speaking  in  support  of  this  amendment 
he  said :  "  We  hear  it  proclaimed  that  the  people 
demand  cheap  money.  I  deny  it.  The  people 
do  not  demand  cheap  money.  They  demand  an 
abundance  of  good  money,  which  is  an  entirely 
different  thing.  They  do  not  want  a  single  gold 
standard,  that  will  exclude  silver  and  benefit  those 
already  rich.  They  do  not  want  an  inferior  silver 
standard,  that  will  drive  out  gold  and  not  help 
those  already  poor.  They  want  both  metals,  in 
full  value,  in  equal  honor." 

Mr.  Elaine's  amendment  was  rejected  and  the 
bill  in  its  original  form  was  passed.  The  President 


2l6  ,  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

vetoed  it,  on  the  very  grounds  expressed  by 
Mr.  Elaine  in  his  speeches  against  it.  But  Con 
gress  passed  the  bill  over  the  President's  veto 
and  it  became  a  law. 

A  third  question  on  which  Mr.  Elaine  took 
pronounced  and  conspicuous  ground  in  the  Senate 
was  that  of  limiting  Chinese  immigration.  About 
1877,  agitation  of  this  matter  assumed  in  Cali 
fornia  a  violent  form.  Mass  meetings  were  held 
frequently  in  Sari  Francisco  and  elsewhere,  at 
which  the  Chinese  were  bitterly  denounced  and  a 
demand  was  made  for  their  exclusion  from  the 
country.  It  was  found  that  no  action  by  the  State 
would  be  sufficient  to  attain  this  object,  and  the 
voice  of  the  people  called  to  Congress  for  relief. 
A  bill  was  accordingly  introduced  restricting  the 
number  of  Chinese  passengers  on  any  one  incom 
ing  vessel  to  fifteen.  To  this  measure  Mr.  Elaine 
gave  hearty  support,  although  he  was  at  first 
sharply  criticised  for  so  doing  by  many  of  his 
warmest  friends  in  New  England  and  the  Middle 
States.  Speaking  on  this  subject,  in  February, 
1879,  he  said : 

"  Ought  we  to  exclude  them  ?  The  question 
lies  in  my  mind  thus :  Either  the  Anglo-Saxon 
race  will  possess  the  Pacific  coast,  or  the  Mongo 
lians  will  possess  it.  You  give  them  the  start  to 
day,  with  the  keen  thrust  of  necessity  behind 
them,  and  with  the  ease  of  transportation  before 
them,  and  it  is  entirely  inevitable  that  they  will 


SENATOR  GEO.   F.   EDMUNDS. 


THE  SEX  A  TOR.  219 

occupy  that  great  space  of  country  between  the 
Sierras  and  the  Pacific  coast.  *  *  The  immigrants 
that  come  to  us  from  all  portions  of  Europe  come 
here  with  the  idea  of  the  family  as  such  engraven 
on  their  minds  and  in  their  customs  and  in  their 
habits,  as  we  have  it.  The  Asiatic  cannot  go  on 
with  our  population  and  make  a  homogeneous 
element.  The  idea  of  comparing  European 
immigration  with  an  immigration  that  has  no  re 
gard  for  family,  that  does  not  recognize  the  rela 
tion  of  husband  and  wife,  that  does  not  observe 
the  tie  of  parent  and  child,  that  does  not  have  in 
the  slightest  degree  the  ennobling  and  civilizing 
influences  of  the  hearthstone  and  the  fireside  ! 
There  is  not  a  peasant's  cottage  inhabited  by  a 
Chinaman ;  there  is  not  a  hearthstone,  in  the 
sense  we  understand  it.  There  is  not  a  domestic 
fireside  in  that  sense. 

"  I  have  heard  a  great  deal  about  their  cheap 
labor.  I  do  not  myself  believe  in  cheap  labor.  I 
do  not  believe  that  cheap  labor  should  be  an 
object  of  legislation.  There  is  not  a  laborer  on 
the  Pacific  coast  to-day  who  does  not  feel 
wounded  and  grieved  and  crushed  by  the  com 
petition  that  comes  from  this  source.  It  is 
servile  labor.  It  is  not  free  labor  such  as  we  in 
tend  to  develop  and  encourage  and  build  up  in 
this  country.  It  is  labor  that  comes  here  under  a 
mortgage.  We  can  choose  here  to-day  whether 
our  legislation  shall  be  in  the  interest  of  the 
13 


220  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

American  free  laborer  or  of  the  servile  laborer 
from  China." 

The  bill  which  Mr.  Elaine  thus  advocated  was 
passed  by  both  Houses  of  Congress,  but  was 
vetoed  by  President  Hayes  on  the  ground  that  it 
was  a  violation  of  treaty  obligations.  A  few 
years  later  another  and  still  more  rigorous  bill 
was  introduced  and  adopted,  but  Mr.  Elaine  wa^s 
not  then  in  the  Senate. 

The  attitude  taken  by  Mr.  Elaine  in  advocacy 
of  the  protective  tariff  system  is  fully  set  forth 
elsewhere.  One  other  striking  incident  of  his 
Senatorial  career,  although  not  directly  pertain 
ing  to  the  business  of  that  House,  occurred  in  the 
winter  of  1879  and  1880.  The  State  election  in 
Maine  in  the  fall  of  1879  was  bitterly  contested 
and  the  result  was  very  close.  There  was  no 
reasonable  doubt,  however,  that  the  Republicans 
had  won.  But  the  Democrats,  who  had  for  the 
preceding  year  had  possession  of  the  State  Gov 
ernment,  expressed  the  determination  to  continue 
in  office.  They  based  their  claim  to  do  so  on 
certain  alleged  defective  returns.  Their  attempt 
might  have  been  successful,  had  not  Mr.  Elaine, 
with  characteristic  promptness  and  firmness,  set 
on  foot  active  measures  to  defeat  it.  He  made 
at  his  home  in  Augusta  an  indignant  speech,  de 
nouncing  the  Democratic  plot  in  unsparing  terms. 
In  the  end  the  Democrats  were  compelled  to 
abandon  their  unlawful  position  and  to  surrender 


THE  SENATOR.  221 

the  State  government  to  the  rightfully-elected 
Republican  officers.  It  was  recognized  that  this 
result  was  due  almost  entirely  to  Mr.  Elaine's 
endeavors,  and  thus  a  great  addition  was  made  to 
the  debt  of  gratitude  which  the  people  of  Maine 
already  owed  to  him. 

Mr.  Elaine  also  distinguished  himself  in  the 
Senate  by  his  advocacy  of  measures  for  the  bene 
fit  of  American  commercial  and  shipping  interests, 
making  several  important  speeches  on  the  sub 
ject.  At  the  expiration  of  the  fragmentary  term 
for  which  he  was  appointed,  he  was  elected  by 
the  Maine  Legislature  for  another  full  term.  He 
did  not  serve  during  the  whole  of  the  latter,  how 
ever,  being  summoned  in  1881  to  another  posi 
tion,  in  the  Executive  Department  of  the  Gov 
ernment. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

NATIONAL    SOVEREIGNTY. 

The  Congressional  Deadlock  and  Political  Debate  of  May,  1879 — The 
Question  of  State  Rights  versus  National  Soverignty  at  Issue — Ad 
dresses  by  Great  Party  Leaders — Senator  Eaton's  Presentation  of  the 
Democratic  Side — Mr.  Elaine's  Reply — Full  Text  of  his  Masterly 
Oration. 

The  spring- of  1879  was  marked  in  Congress 
by  a  long  and  bitter  political  struggle.  The 
Democrats  had  a  majority  in  each  House,  while 
a  Republican,  Mr.  Hayes,  was  in  the  Presidential 
chair.  A  strong  effort  was  made  by  the  Demo 
crats,  under  the  lead  chiefly  of  Southern  mem 
bers,  formerly  identified  with  the  Rebellion,  to 
enact  legislation  impairing  the  authority  of  the 
Federal  Government  in  electoral  matters.  A  bill 
was  passed  forbidding  the  use  of  United  States 
troops  to  preserve  the  peace  or  for  any  other  pur 
pose  at  the  polls.  This  was  so  framed  as  to  de 
stroy  the  right  of  the  Federal  Government  to 
maintain  its  own  lawful  authority,  which  it  had 
exercised  without  question  for  a  hundred  years. 
The  President  promptly  vetoed  this  measure  on 
constitutional  grounds ;  whereupon  the  Demo 
crats  threatened  to  withhold  the  appropriations 
necessary  for  the  conduct  of  the  government. 
Thus  a  deadlock  ensued,  the  Republican  minority 

222 


NATIONAL  SOVEREIGNTY.  223 

standing  firmly  by  the  President  and  preventing 
the  passage  of  the  bill  over  his  veto.  There  was 
a  long  and  acrimonious  debate,  in  which  the  whole 
question  of  State  Rights  and  National  Sovereign 
ty  was  discussed.  Senator  Conkling,  Senator 
Edmunds  and  others  made  important  speeches 
on  the  Republican  side,  and  Senator  Hill,  Senator 
Hampton  and  others  upheld  the  Democratic  side. 
Conspicuous  among  the  Democratic  leaders 
was  Senator  Eaton,  of  Connecticut.  Early  in  the 
debate  it  was  announced  that  he  would  presently 
make  a  great  speech,  which  would  cover  the  Re 
publican  leaders  with  confusion,  and  which  would 
especially  disconcert  Mr.  Elaine.  This  announce 
ment  was  fulfilled  on  May  i6th,  so  far  as  Mr. 
Eaton  was  able  to  fulfil  it.  He  made  on  that  day 
an  eloquent  speech,  in  which  he  made  perhaps 
the  best  presentation  of  the  Democratic  side  of 
the  case  that  was  heard  during  the  debate.  But 
he  did  not  make  the  pointed  and  vigorous  attack 
upon  Mr.  Elaine  which  had  been  expected.  An 
immediate  reply  was  made  by  Senator  Conkling, 
and  it  scarcely  seemed  necessary  for  Senator 
Elaine  to  take  any  especial  notice  of  Mr.  Eaton's 
remarks.  He  decided  to  do  so,  however,  and 
announcement  was  made  that  he  would  speak  to 
the  question  on  May  igth.  On  that  date  a  crowded 
and  distinguished  audience  gathered  in  the  Senate 
Chamber  to  hear  him ;  and  it  was  not  disap 
pointed.  He  traversed  in  a  most  effective  manner 


'224  JAMES  G. 

the  whole  ground  of  the  debate,  addressing 
himself  not  only  to  the  answering  of  Senator 
Eaton,  but  Senator  Hill,  Senator  Bayard  and 
Senator  Hampton  as  well.  Historical  argu 
ments  had  entered  largely  into  the  debate,  and 
on  this  ground  Mr.  Elaine  showed  himself  to  be 

o 

entirely  at  home.  The  familiarity  with  political 
and  constitutional  history  which  he  displayed  de 
lighted  his  friends  and  dismayed  his  enemies, 
while  it  astonished  both.  And  when  he  took  his 
seat,  it  was  felt  on  both  sides  that  no  further  dis 
cussion  could,  after  his  address,  adduce  any  new 
fact  or  argument  of  importance  in  behalf  of  the 
National  cause. 

Mr.  Elaine's  speech  on  this  occasion  is  here  re 
produced  in  full,  as  an  essential  part  of  the  stir 
ring  political  history  of  those  times,  and  as  a  com 
plete  expression  of  his  views  on  a  constitutional 
question  of  the  greatest  importance. 

MR.  PRESIDENT  :  Whether  the  honorable  Sena 
tor  from  Connecticut  (Mr.  Eaton)  or  myself  should 
the  more  correctly  remember  a  quotation  from 
Mr.  Webster's  speeches  is  a  matter  of  very 
small  personal  consequence,  and  of  no  public  im 
portance  whatever.  It  is  not,  therefore,  with  any 
intention  of  indicating  a  better  memory  or  a  more 
accurate  quotation  that  I  refer  to  this  subject ;  but 
it  is  because  there  has  been  a  labored  and  per 
sistent  attempt,  in  which  I  am  sorry  the  Senator 
from  Connecticut  has  taken  part,  to  misrepresent 


NATIONAL   SOVEREIGNTY.  22$ 

Mr.  Webster  and  declare  that  near  the  close  of 
his  life  and  at  the  end  of  his  political  career  he 
changed  his  views,  and  that  he  had  somewhere  to 

o 

some  public  assemblage  practically  retracted  the 
great  arguments  he  had  made  against  the  State- 
rights  heresies  and  in  behalf  of  the  Constitution 
and  the  Union.  The  honorable  Senator  from 
Connecticut  on  the  occasion  to  which  he  has  him 
self  made  reference  spoke  thus  :  "I  said  that 
Mr.  Webster  called  this  '  a  confederacy  of  States.' 
I  say  he  called  it  not  only  a  confederacy  of  States, 
but  a  confederation  of  States." 

Further  down,  during  a  little  colloquy  between 
the  Senator  and  myself,  he  said  :  "When  he 
reads  a  few  words  from  a  certain  speech  of  Mr. 
Webster,  does  the  honorable  Senator  from  Maine 
undertake  to  assert  on  this  floor  that  Mr.  Web 
ster  did  not  again  and  again  call  this  government 
not  only  a  confederation  of  States  but  a  compact 
between  States  ?  I  say  he  did." 

Further  on  the  Senator  said :  "  When  the 
proper  time  arrives — I  have  not  the  library  of  Mr. 
Webster  in  my  pocket,  I  do  not  carry  it  around 
with  me  (laughter) — when  the  proper  time  arrives 
I  will  show  that  Mr.  Webster  called  this  a  con 
federacy  and  the  Constitution  a  compact." 

The  honorable  Senator  came  into  the  Senate 
on  Friday  last  and  very  fully  and  magnanimously 
admitted  that  he  had  not  been  able  to  find,  any 
where,  in  Mr.  Webster's  speeches,  that  he  had 


220  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

called  this  government  a  ' 'confederacy  of  States, ft 
but  he  was  very  sure  he  had 'called  it  a  com 
pact  and  "  a  compact  between  the  States." 
Let  me  read  what  the  honorable  Senator  said  : 
"In  1851,  in  his  celebrated  Capon  Springs  speech, 
the  language  of  Mr.  Webster  admits  of  no  dis 
pute.  Whatever  he  may  have  said  on  other 
occasions,  whatever  he  said  in  his  great  discus 
sion  on  the  floor  of  the  Senate  with  Mr.  Hayne  or 
with  Mr.  Calhoun,  on  the  occasion  of  this  speech, 
in  the  most  unqualified  manner  he  asserted  the 
fact  for  which  I  contend,  that  the  Constitution  is  a 
compact  between  parties  competent  to  enter  into 
a  compact,  to  wit,  the  States." 

The  honorable  Senator  held  in  his  hand  at  that 
time  a  very  mischievous  book,  and  I  may  say  he 
derived  his  facts,  if  not  his  inspiration,  from  that 
book,  which  I  have  now  before  me.  It  is  a  book 
written  by  a  gentleman  of  great  influence  in  the 
Southern  country,  of  acknowledged  ability,  of 
long  and  eminent  service  in  the  public  councils — . 
Mr.  Alexander  H.  Stephens,  of  Georgia.  It  is, 
as  I  have  said,  a  mischievous  book.  It  is  mis> 
chievous  in  its  title,  it  is  mischievous  in  its  pre^ 
face,  it  is  mischievous  in  every  word  from  the 
opening  to  the  closing  chapter  ;  and  it  is  mischiev 
ous  because,  although  a  sincere  man  himself,  1 
believe  it  is  an  elaborate  tissue  of  absolute  mis 
representations,  and  misrepresentations  from  a 
sincere  man  are  much  more  mischievous  than 


MA-T10NAL  SOVEREIGNTY. 

misrepresentations  from  one  who  designs  to  mis 
represent. 

In  this  book,  which  the  honorable  Senator  from 
Connecticut  then  held  in  his  hand,  Mr.  Stephens 
takes  the  ground  that  Mr.  Webster  had  recanted 
and  changed  his  views  in  regard  to  the  nature  of 
our  government.  On  the  four  hundred  and  third 
page  of  the  first  volume  he  says  :  "But  besides 
all  this,  as  a  further  proof  of  Mr.  Webster's 
change  of  views  as  to  the  Constitution  being  a 
compact  between  the  States,  I  cite  you  to  a  later 
speech  made  by  him  at  Capon  Springs,  in  Vir 
ginia,  on  the  28th  of  June,  1851." 

And  he  quotes  then  what  the  Senator  from 
Connecticut  quoted.  Then  Mr.  Stephens  says  : 
"  In  this  speech  Mr.  Webster  distinctly  held  that 
the  Union  was  a  union  of  States.  That  the  Union 
was  founded  upon  a  compact." 

Further  on  Mr.  Stephens  says :  "I  did  not 
agree  with  him  (Mr.  Webster)  in  his  expo 
sition  of  the  Constitution  in  1833,  but  I  did 
fully  and  cordially  agree  with  him  in  his  expo 
sition  in  1839  and  1851.  According  to  that, 
the  Constitution  was  and  is  a  compact  between 
the  States." 

And  in  the  ingenious  attempt  to  justify  the 
secession  that  took  place  in  1861,  handing  it  down 
to  posterity  in  a  history  entitled  <k  The  War 
between  the  States,"  instead  of  a  rebellion  against 
the  Government,  Mr.  Stephens  endeavors  to 


228  /AMES  G.  BLAME. 

enlist  Mr.  Webster  as  one  .of  the  witnesses  that 
justified  that  line  of  proceeding". 

Mr.  President,  mere  definition  is  not  a  matter  on 
which  time  can  be  profitably  spent,  much  less  on 
the  rhetorical  use  of  a  word.  When  a  man  speaks 
of  a  "  compact  "  rhetorically,  when  he  speaks  of  a 
"  continental  empire  "  rhetorically,  or  when  he 
speaks  of  an  "imperial  republic"  rhetorically,  or 
when,  like  the  Senator  from  Connecticut,  he 
speaks  of  a  "  representative  republic  of  sovereign 
States,"  I  do  not  expect  to  hold  him  very  closely 
to  the  line  of  the  definition  ;  and  if  it  were  a  mere 
matter  of  words  as  to  how  this  man  or  that  man 
happened  in  a  piece  of  public  declamation  to  de 
fine  the  nature  of  the  Government,  it  would  not 
be  worth  while  here  to  spend  the  time  of  the 
Senate  upon  it.  But  the  honorable  Senator  from 
Connecticut  knows,  and  all  with  whom  he  is  asso 
ciated  in  the  political  revolution  now  attempted 
in  this  country  know,  that  upon  the  line  of  divis 
ion  involved  in  these  words  is  wacred  the  contest 

o 

between  the  two  great  parties  that  are  contend 
ing  for  mastery  in  this  country  ;  that  here  is  in 
volved  the  true  construction  under  which  this 
government  is  to  be  administered — whether  the 
Government  of  the  United  States  shall  have  the 
power  to  uphold  itself,  or  whether  it  shall  be  the 
mere  creature  of  the  States,  living  and  breathing 
and  moving  at  their  will  and  pleasure.  On 
that  line  the  two  parties  in  this  country  divide  ;  and 


NATIONAL   SOVEREIGNTY.  22g 

I  have  never  known  a  more  extraordinary  at 
tempt — I  will  not  say  disingenuous,  for  that 
would  imply  motive — I  have  never  known  a 
more  extraordinary  attempt  to  twist  or  turn  or 
confound  distinctions  than  the  attempt  to  make 
Mr.  Webster's  speech  at  Capon  Springs  the  basis 
on  which  this  revelation  of  his  change  of  view 
should  be  established.  Both  Mr.  Stephens  in  his 
history  and  the  honorable  Senator  from  Connecti 
cut  in  his  speech  quoted  from  a  pamphlet  copy  of 
Mr.  Webster's  Capon  Springs  address.  I  thought 
I  discovered  when  the  honorable  Senator  was 
speaking,  that  he  was  not  especially  familiar  with 
the  writings  of  Mr.  Webster.  I  hope  he  will  not 
think  me  scant  in  courtesy  if  I  say  that  I  have 
discovered  still  less  familiarity  now,  because  he 
need  not  have  gone  to  Mr.  Stephens's  history  to 
get  these  extracts  nor  need  he  have  referred  to 
lost  pamphlets,  containing  the  whole  speech,  for 
here  in  the  authentic  life  of  Mr.  Webster,  the 
biography  to  which  Mr.  Webster's  friends  are 
willing  to  trust  his  fame,  his  life  by  George  T. 
Curtis,  the  speech  is  given  in  full.  And  just 
after  that  speech  was  delivered  this  same  de 
lusion  which  the  Senator  from  Connecticut  indi 
cates  went  all  over  the  South.  It  was  everywhere 
heralded  in  the  South  that  Mr.  Webster  had  de 
fined  the  Union  as  "a  compact,"  and  here  is  what 
his  eminent  biographer  says  in  regard  to  the 
report : — 


230  JAAtZS   C.   11LAL\'E. 

"  What  Mr.  Webster  had  said  at  Capon  Springs, 
in  speaking1  of  one  of  the  compacts  or  compro 
mises  between  the  Northern  and  Southern  sections 
of  the  Union,  on  which  the  Constitution  was 
founded,  was  at  once  misrepresented,  especially 
in  North  Carolina"  (there  was  an  important  elec 
tion  pending  in  that  State  at  the  time,  I  believe), 
"as  a  confirmation  by  him  of  the  doctrine  that 
the  Constitution  itself  is  a  compact  between 
sovereign  States,  and  as  drawing  after  it,  as  a  re 
sulting  right,  the  right  of  State  secession  from 
the  Union.  A  citizen  of  North  Carolina  accord 
ingly  wrote  to  Mr.  Webster  on  this  subject,  and 
received  from  him  the  following  answer,  which 

o 

was  immediately  made  public." 

I  will  not  read  the  whole  of  it,  but  Mr.  Webster 
says,  speaking  of  the  government :  "It  is  not  a 
limited  confederation,  but  a  government ;  and  it 
proceeds  upon  the  idea  that  it  is  to  be  perpetual, 
like  other  forms  of  government,  subject  only  to 
be  dissolved  by  revolution.  What  I  said  at  Capon 
Springs  was  an  argument  addressed  to  the  North, 
and  intended  to  convince  the  North  that  if,  by  its 
superiority  of  numbers,  it  should  defeat  the  oper 
ation  of  a  plain,  undoubted  and  undeniable  in 
junction  of  the  Constitution,  intended  for  the 
especial  protection  of  the  South,  such  a  pro 
ceeding  must  necessarily  end  in  the  breaking 
up  of  the  government ;  that  is  to  say,  in  a  revo 
lution." 


NA  T10XA I   SO  I  -KREIGNT\.  2  3  I 

Here  is  what  Mr.  Webster,  in  the  speech  itself, 
said  in  reviewing  the  condition  of  public  sentiment 
then  threatening,  as  it  afterward  broke  out  in 
revolution;  and  here  is  what  Mr.  Stephens  is  careful 
not  to  quote,  and  what,  therefore,  my  honorable 
friend  in  his  speech  could  not  have  been  expected 
to  quote.  Mr.  Webster,  in  referring  to  the  dis 
union  movement  found  in  the  South,  the  State- 
rights  movement  then  running  all  over  the  South, 
said: 

"I  make  no  argument  against  resolutions,  con 
ventions,  secession  speeches,  or  proclamations. 
Let  these  things  go  on.  The  whole  rgatter,  it  is 
to  be  hoped,  will  blow  over,  and  men  will  return 
to  a  sounder  mode  of  thinking.  But  one  thing" 
(and  this  is  put  in  italics  here,  as  it  was  in  the 
National  Intelligencer,  which  was  Mr.  Webster's 
immediate  organ  in  those  days),  "But  one  thing, 
gentlemen,  be  assured  of,  the  first  step  taken  in 
the  programme  of  secession,  which  shall  be  an 
actual  infringement  of  the  Constitution  or  the 
laws,  will  be  promptly  met.  (Great  applause.) 
And  I  would  not  remain  an  hour  in  any  adminis 
tration  that  should  not  immediately  meet  any  such 
violation  of  the  Constitution  and  the  law  effect 
ually  and  at  once.  (Prolonged  applause.)" 

Mr.  Stephens  does  not  quote  that.  But,  Mr. 
President,  how  absurd,  how  unjust,  is  the  idea  of 
going  around  and  catching  up  a  chance  speech  at 
a  watering-place  in  order  to  convince  a  certain 


232  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

section  of  this  country  which  drifted  into  war  in 
support  of  a  bad  theory,  and  which  is  drifting 
back  into  that  theory  as  fast  as  it  can  !  How  ab 
surd,  how  unjust,  is  the  idea  of  picking  up  a 
chance  speech  delivered  in  answer  to  a  serenade 
as  the  conclusive  constitutional  opinions  of  Mr. 
Webster,  when  Mr.  Webster  himself  had  left  in 
the  very  last  year  of  his  life,  and  after  that  speech 
was  delivered,  six  volumes  of  his  works,  on  which 
he  desired  to  go  down  to  posterity,  on  which  he 
rested  his  fame,  and  on  which  he  inscribed  formal 
introductions  ;  from  which  I  quote  the  following : 
"The  principles  and  opinions  expressed  in  these 
productions  are  such  as  I  believe  to  be  essential 
to  the  preservation  of  the  Union,  the  maintenance 
of  the  Constitution,  and  the  advancement  of  the 
country  to  still  higher  stages  of  prosperity  and 
renown.  These  objects  have  constituted  my 
polar  star  during  the  whole  of  my  political  life, 
wrhich  has  now  extended  through  more  than  half 
the  period  of  the  existence  of  the  government." 
On  these  speeches,  delivered  by  Mr.  Webster, 
in  the  Senate  and  in  the  House  and  on  great  pub 
lic  occasions,  revised  by  himself,  published  under 
his  auspices,  he  committed  himself  to  history ; 
and  from  these  neither  Mr.  Stephens,  in  his  mis 
chievous  history,  nor  the  honorable  Senator  from 
Connecticut  affects  to  quote  anything  at  all.  You 
can  hardly  open  a  solitary  page  in  the  whole  six 
volumes  that  does  not  contain  a  startling  refutation 


NATIONAL   SOVEREIGNTY.  233 

of  all  the  theories  that  they  now  pretend  Mr. 
Webster  had  admitted  in  the  closing  days  of  his 
life.  Let  me  pick  out  one  instance  at  random. 

In  some  very  brief  remarks  that  I  made  the 
other  afternoon,  when  the  bill  was  about  to  be 
voted  upon  which  the  President  vetoed,  I  stated 
that  the  Democratic  party  of  to-day  as  represented 
in  this  chamber  were  the  followers  of  the  State- 
rights  school  of  Democracy  represented  by  Mr. 
Calhoun  and  Mr.  Breckinridge.  I  believe  I  was 
correct  in  stating  that ;  I  believe  I  was  quite 
within  the  facts.  I  read  now  from  Mr.  Calhoun's 
own  definition  in  his  celebrated  discussion  with 
Mr.  Webster,  and  I  think  the  resolution  exactly 
fits  and  fills  the  idea  of  the  Senator  from  Connec 
ticut  as  to  the  true  theory  of  this  Government,  if 
I  understood  him  aright.  Mr.  Calhoun  submitted 
the  following  :  "  Resolved,  That  the  people  of  the 
several  States  composing  these  United  States  are 
united  as  parties  to  a  constitutional  compact,  to 
which  the  people  of  each  State  acceded  as  a  sepa 
rate  sovereign  community,  each  binding  itself  by 
its  own  particular  ratification  ;  and  that  the  Union, 
of  which  the  said  compact  is  the  bond,  is  a  Union 
between  the  States  ratifying  the  same." 

That  is  the  Democratic  theory  to-day.  I  doubt 
if  there  is  a  Senator  on  the  other  side  of  the 
chamber  who  will  controvert  these  words  of  Mr. 
Calhoun  ;  the  Senator  from  Connecticut  asserts 
the  same  doctrine  in  terms.  Mr.  Calhoun  then 


234  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

goes  on  in  a  long  series  of  resolutions  controvert1 
ing  the  idea  that  we  constitute  a  nation.  In  an 
swer,  Mr.  Webster,  after  an  elaborate  speech, 
sums  up  and  says:  "And  now,  sir,  against  all 
these  theories  and  opinions,  I  maintain,  first :  That 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  is  not  a 
league,  confederacy  or  compact  between  the  peo 
ple  of  the  several  States  in  their  sovereign  capa 
cities,  but  a  Government  proper,  founded  on  the 
adoption  of  the  people,  and  creating  direct  rela 
tions  between  itself  and  individuals." 

I  know  you  will  not  get  tired  hearing  Mr.  Web 
ster.  I  am  making  a  very  good  speech  out  of  his 
works,  far  better  than  anything  I  could  say  myself. 
The  honorable  Senator  dwelt  at  length,  and 
dwelt  with  that  modest  form  of  affirmation  which 
sometimes  distinguishes  his  utterances,  upon  the 
idea  that  no  man  could  deny  that  it  was  the  States 
that  formed  the  Constitution,  and  he  quoted  as 
conclusive  on  that  point  the  provision  that  it 
should  go  into  effect  upon  the  ratification  of  nine 
States.  Mr.  Webster,  in  his  second  speech  on 
Foote's  resolution,  spoke  thus  :  "Sir,  the  opinion 
which  the  honorable  gentleman  (Mr.  Calhoun) 
maintains  is  a  notion  founded  in  a  total  misappre 
hension,  in  my  judgment,  of  the  origin  of  this 
Government,  and  of  the  foundation  on  which  it 
stands.  I  hold  it  to  be  a  popular  Government, 
erected  by  the  people  ;  those  who  administer  it, 
responsible  to  the  people  ;  and  itself  capable  of 


ROBERT  T.   LINCOLN. 


NATIONAL  SOVEREIGNTY.  237 

being  amended  and  modified,  just  as  the  people 
may  choose  it  should  be.  It  is  as  popular,  just  as 
truly  emanating  from  the  people,  as  the  State 
governments.  It  is  created  for  one  purpose  ;  the 
State  governments  for  another.  It  has  its  own 
powers  ;  they  have  theirs."  And  then  Mr.  Web 
ster  adds  :  "  We  are  here  to  administer  a  Consti 
tution  emanating  immediately  from  the  people 
and  trusted  by  them  to  our  administration.  It  is 
not  the  creature  of  the  State  governments.  It  is 
of  no  moment  to  the  argument,  that  certain  acts 
of  the  State  Legislatures  are  necessary  to  fill  our 
seats  in  this  body.  That  is  not  one  of  their  origi 
nal  Sate  powers,  a  part  of  the  sovereignty  of  the 
State.  It  is  a  duty  which  the  people  by  the  Con 
stitution  itself  have  imposed  on  the  State  Legisla 
tures  ;  and  which  they  might  have  left  to  be  per 
formed  elsewhere,  if  they  had  seen  fit."  He  says 
in  another  speech  :  "  So  much,  sir,  for  the  argu 
ment,  even  if  the  premises  of  the  gentleman  were 
granted  or  could  be  proved.  But,  sir,  the  gentle 
man  has  failed  to  maintain  his  leading  proposi 
tion.  He  has  not  shown,  it  cannot  be  shown,  that 
the  Constitution  is  'a  compact  between  State 
governments.'  The  Constitution  itself  in  its  very 
front,  refutes  that  idea.  It  declares  that  it  is 
ordained  and  established  by  the  people  of  the 
United  States." 

And  yet  Mr.  Stephens  solemnly  represents  and 
asserts  that  Mr.  Webster  recanted  that  opinion. 
14 


238  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

"The  Constitution  itself,  in  its  very  front,  refutes 
that  idea.  It  declares  that  it  is  ordained  and 
established  by  the  people  of  the  United  States. 
So  far  from  saying  that  it  is  established  by  the 
governments  of  the  several  States,  it  does  not  even 
say  that  it  is  established  by  the  people  of  the 
several  States  ;  but  it  pronounces  that  it  is  estab 
lished  by  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  the 
aggregate.  The  gentleman  says  it  must  mean  no 
more  than  the  people  of  the  several  States. 
Doubtless  the  people  of  the  several  States,  taken 
collectively,  constitute  the  people  of  the  United 
States ;  but  it  is  in  this  their  collective  capacity, 
it  is  as  all  the  people  of  the  United  States,  that 
they  establish  the  Constitution.  So  they  declare, 
and  words  cannot  be  plainer  than  the  words  used. 
When  the  gentleman  says  the  Constitution  is  a 
compact  between  the  States  he  uses  language 
exactly  applicable  to  the  old  confederation.  He 
speaks  as  if  he  were  in  Congress  before  1789. 
He  describes  fully  that  old  state  of  things  then 
existing.  The  confederation  was  in  strictness  a 
compact ;  the  States,  as  States,  were  parties  to  it. 
We  had  no  other  general  government." 

The  other  allegation  of  Mr.  Stephens  was  that 
Mr.  Webster,  in  1838,  five  years  after  his  speeches 
of  1833,  had  refused  to  vote  against  certain  resolu 
tions  of  Mr.  Calhoun,  and  that  this  refusal  was  a 
very  pregnant  suggestion  that  he  had  then 
changed  his  mind.  He  makes  a  very  solemn 


NATIONAL   SOVEREIGNTY.  239 

presentation  of  the  fact  that  in  a  series  of  five  reso 
lutions  which  Mr.  Calhoun  introduced  in  1838, 
involving  all  the  heretical  doctrines  of  the  State- 
rights,  pro-slavery  democracy,  Mr.  Webster  had 
not  voted.  He  does  not  say  that  Mr.  Webster 
voted  for  them,  but  that  he  had  not  voted  against 
them.  Those  resolutions  of  Mr.  Calhoun  were 
introduced  in  December,  1837.  They  went  on, 
as  such  resolutions  will,  being  a  foot-ball  for  politi 
cal  debate,  for  some  months.  On  the  22d  of 
March,  1838,  after  they  had  been  passed  upon  by 
the  Senate,  Mr.  Webster  referred  to  them  as  fol 
lows,  in  regard  to  the  slavery  question  :  "  Sir, 
this  is  a  very  grave  matter;  it  is  a  subject  very 
exciting  and  inflammable.  I  take,  of  course,  all  the 
responsibility  belonging  to  my  opinions  ;  but  I 
desire  those  opinions  to  be  understood,  and  fairly 
stated.  If  I  am  to  be  regarded  as  an  enemy  to 
the  South  because  I  could  not  support  the  gentle 
man's  resolutions,  be  it  so.  I  cannot  purchase 
favors  from  any  quarter  by  the  sacrifice  of  clear 
and  conscientious  convictions.  The  principal 
resolution  declared  that  Congress  had  plighted 
its  faith  not  to  interfere  either  with  slavery  or  the 
slave  trade  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  Now, 
sir,  that  is  quite  a  new  idea.  I  never  heard  it 
advanced  until  this  session."  Mr.  Webster  then 
proceeds  to  argue  still  further :  "  On  such  a 
question,  sir,  when  I  am  asked  what  the  Constitu 
tion  is,  or  whether  any  power  granted  by  it  has 


240  JAMES    G.    BLAIXJ-:. 

been  compromised  away,  or,  indeed,  could  be 
compromised  away,  I  must  express  by  honest 
opinion,  and  always  shall  express  it  if  I  say  any 
thing,  notwithstanding  it  may  not  meet  concurrence 
either  in  the  South,  or  the  North,  or  the  East, 
or  the  West.  I  cannot  express  by  my  vote 
what  I  do  not  believe.  The  gentleman  has 
chosen  to  bring  that  subject  into  this  debate, 
with  which  it  has  no  concern,  but  he  may 
make  the  most  of  it,  if  he  thinks  he  can  pro 
duce  unfavorable  impressions  against  me  at  the 
South  for  my  negative  to  his  fifth  resolution.  As 
to  the  rest  of  them,  they  were  commonplaces 
generally  or  abstractions,  in  regard  to  which  one 
may  well  feel  himself  not  called  on  to  vote  at  all." 

And  with  that  record  right  before  him  Mr. 
Stephens  writes  that  Mr.  Webster's  ominous 
refusal  to  vote  on  the  resolutions  indicated  a 
change  of  mind,  when  here  was  his  defiant  review 
of  the  whole  subject  of  Mr.  Calhoun's  heresies. 
And  then  Mr.  Webster  proceeded  with  some 
remarks  which  I  am  disposed  to  think  might  now 
be  addressed  to  the  ether  side  of  the  chamber, 
mutatis  mutandis,  and  we  should  Hardly  realize 
that  forty  years  had  gone  by.  Let  me  read  a 
single  paragraph — I  wish  it  were  original  with  me, 
addressed  as  Mr.  Webster  then  addressed  it — to 
the  opposite  side  of  the  chamber  : — 

"  The  honorable  member  from  Carolina  himself 
habitually  indulges  in  charges  of  usurpation  and 


NA  TIONAL   SO  VERE1GNTY. 


241 


oppression  against  the  government  of  his  country. 
He  daily  announces  its  important  measures  in 
the  language  in  which  our  revolutionary  fathers 
spoke  of  the  oppressions  of  the  mother  country. 
Not  merely  against  executive  usurpation,  either 
real  or  supposed,  does  he  utter  these  sentiments, 
but  against  laws  of  Congress,  laws  passed  by  large 
majorities,  laws  sanctioned  for  a  course  of  years 
by  the  people.  These  laws  he  proclaims,  every 
hour,  to  be  but  a  series  of  acts  of  oppression. 
He  speaks  of  them  as  if  it  were  an  admitted  fact 
that  such  is  their  true  character.  This  is  the 
language  he  utters,  these  are  the  sentiments  he 
expresses,  to  the  rising  generation  around  him. 
Are  they  sentiments  and  language  which  are 
likely  to  inspire  our  children  with  the  love  of 
union,  to  enlarge  their  patriotism,  or  to  teach  them, 
and  to  make  them  feel  that  their  destiny  has  made 
them  common  citizens  of  one  grand  and  glorious 
Republic?  A  principal  object  in  his  late  political 
movements,  the  gentleman  himself  tells  us,  was 
to  unite  the  entire  South ;  and  against  whom  or 
what  does  he  wish  to  unite  the  entire  South  ?  Is 
not  this  the  very  essence  of  local  feeling  and  local 
regard?  Is  it  not  the  acknowledgment  of  a  wish 
and  object  to  create  political  strength  by  uniting 
political  opinions  geopraphically  ?  Finally,  the 
honorable  member  declares  that  he  shall  now 
march  off  under  the  banner  of  State  rights. 
March  off  from  whom  ?  March  off  from  what  ? 


242  JAMES   G. 

We  have  been  contending  for  great  principles. 
We  have  been  struggling  to  maintain  the  liberty 
and  to  restore  the  prosperity  of  our  country.  We 
have  made  these  struggles  here  in  the  national 
councils,  with  the  old  flag — the  true  American  flag, 
the  eagle  and  the  stars  and  stripes — waving  over 
the  chamber  in  which  we  sit.  He  now  tells  us, 
however,  that  he  marches  off  under  the  State- 
rights  banner.  Let  him  go.  I  remain.  I  am 
where  I  have  ever  been,  and  ever  mean  to  be." 

The  honorable  Senator  from  Georgia  the  other 
day  made  a  speech  that  was  somewhat  remark 
able!  Among  other  things,  he  depicted  the  over 
whelming  grief  he  had  at  the  secession  of  the 
Southern  States  ;  and  when  he  was  called  upon 
by  the  independent  voters  of  the  country  of  Troup 
to  represent  them  in  the  secession  convention,  he 
wrote  this  letter  to  them  as  he  says :  "  I  will 
consent  to  the  dissolution  of  the  Union  as  I  would 
consent  to  the  death  of  my  father,  never  from 
choice,  only  from  necessity,  and  then  in  sorrow 
and  sadness  of  heart." 

Well,  he  was  elected  on  that  platform,  and  he 
went  to  the  convention,  and  the  convention,  as  we 
all  know,  passed  the  ordinance  of  secession.  And 
in  the  evening  of  January  19,  1861,  he  writes  to  a 
friend  a  letter  which  he  quotes  himself:  "  Dear 
Sir  :  The  deed  is  done.  Georgia  this  day  left  the 
Union.  Cannon  have  been  firing  and  bells  tolling. 
At  this  moment  people  are  filling  the  streets 


NATIONAL   SOVEREIGNS.  243 

shouting  vociferously.  A  large  torchlight  pro 
cession  is  moving  from  house  to  house  and  calling 
out  speakers.  The  resolution  declaratory  passed 
on  yesterday,  and  similar  scenes  were  enacted  last 
night.  The  crowd  called  loudly  for  me,  but  my 
room  was  dark,  my  heart  was  sad,  and  my  tongue 
was  silent.  Whoever  may  be  in  fault  is  not  now 
the  question.  Whether  by  the  North  or  by  the 
South  or  by  both,  the  fact  remains  :  the  Union 
has  fallen.  The  most  favored  sons  of  freedom 
have  written  a  page  in  history  which  despots  will 
read  to  listening  subjects  for  centuries  to  come  to 
prove  that  the  people  are  not  capable  of  self- 
government.  How  can  I  think  thus  and  feel 
otherwise  than  badly?" 

Here  is  the  "  ordinance  to  dissolve  the  Union 
between  the  State  of  Georgia  and  other  States 
united  with  her  under  a  compact  of  government 
entitled  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States." 
This  is  the  original  journal  of  the  Georgia  con 
vention  ;  it  is  a  rare  book.  The  literature  of  that 
section  from  some  cause  is  very  hard  to  procure. 

"  We,  the  people  of  the  State  of  Georgia,  in 
convention  assembled,  do  declare  and  ordain,  and 
it  is  hereby  declared  and  ordained,  That  the 
ordinance  adopted  by  the  people  of  the  State  of 
Georgia  in  convention  on  the  second  day  of  Janu 
ary,  in  the  year  of  our  Lord  1788,  whereby  the 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  of  America  was 
assented  to,  ratified  and  adopted  ;  and  also  all 


244  JAMES   G.   BLAIN&. 

acts  and  parts  of  acts  by  the  General  Assembly  of 
this  State,  ratifying  and  adopting  amendments  of 
the  said  Constitution,  are  hereby  repealed, 
rescinded  and  abrogated.  We  do  further  declare 
and  ordain,  That  the  union  now  subsisting  be 
tween  the  State  of  Georgia  and  other  States, 
under  the  name  of  '  United  States  of  America/  is 
hereby  dissolved,  and  that  the  State  of  Georgia  is 
in  the  full  possession  and  exercise  of  all  those 
rights  of  sovereignty  which  belong  and  appertain 
to  a  free  and  independent  State." 

That  was  the  ordinance  which  the  Senator  from 
Georgia  said  to  the  people  of  Troup  he  would 
consent  to,  as  he  would  to  the  death  of  his  father, 
and  the  ordinance  which  the  evening  after  it  was 
passed  so  filled  his  heart  with  sadness  that  he  put 
out  the  lights  in  his  room  and  would  not  make  a 
speech  to  a  crowd  outside  serenading  him.  I  have 
read  the  yeas  and  nays  on  that  and  what  is  my 
unbounded  surprise  to  find  that  the  Senator  from 
Georgia  himself  voted  for  the  ordinance.  Here 
he  is,  "  Hill,  of  Troup."  I  believe  I  am  right  in 
saying  that  he  is  the  man.  There  were  two  or 
three  Hills,  all  voting  for  it,  but  "  Hill,  of  Troup," 
voted  for  it,  and  he  cannot  say  in  defence  of  that 
vote,  that  he  did  it  because  there  was  one  of  those 
tempestuous  and  tumultuous  rushes  of  public 
opinion  which  bear  everything  before  it,  and 
which  no  man  could  resist.  We  know  what  that 
is.  It  sometimes  assumes  such  positive  and 


NATIONAL   SOVEREIGNTY.  2.- 

portentous  force  as  to  have  moblike  violence. 
That  was  not  so  in  this  convention.  On  the  call 
of  the  yeas  and  nays,  there  were  208  in  favor  of 
the  ordinance  of  secession  and  89  against  it,  and 
in  the  89  were  Alexander  H.  Stephens  and  Her- 
schel  V.  Johnson,  who  had  that  very  year  run  for 
Vice-President  on  the  Douglas  ticket.  The  Sena 
tor  from  Georgia  (Mr.  Hill),  who  would  consent 
to  it,  just  as  he  would  to  the  death  of  his  father, 
made  up  his  mind  that  if  two  hundred  and  eight 
men  wanted  to  murder  the  old  man  he  would  join 
with  them.  (Great  laughter  and  applause.) 
Rather  than  be  in  a  minority  he  would  join  the 
murderous  crowd  (laughter)  and  be  a  parricide. 

Nobody  would  possibly  infer  from  the  speech 
the  honorable  Senator  made  the  other  day,  that 
he  had  voted  for  the  ordinance  ;  and  I  do  not  say 
this  with  any  feeling,  because  I  have  none.  It  is 
now  indeed  a  most  extraordinary  thing  to  find  a 
gentleman  from  the  South  who  was  originally  for 
secession.  I  do  not  know  who  was.  I  see  very 
pleasant  and  complimentary  biographies  of  the 
various  Senators  on  that  side,  and  they  were  all 
dragged  into  secession. 

I  was  referring  to  the  fact  that  the  honorable 
Senator  from  Georgia — at  the  time  he  rested  his 
eye  directly  on  the  Senator  from  Connecticut, 
whose  pleasant  face  I  love  to  look  into — gave  us 
the  assurance  on  this  side,  that  we  were  tremen 
dously  mistaken  in  supposing  the  Republicans  had 


2^6  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

done  anything  toward  saving  the  Union  ;  it  was 
the  Democrats  that  had  saved  it,  the  Northern 
Democrats.  Well,  I  said,  if  that  be  so,  Mr.  Lin 
coln  was  the  victim  of  a  prodigious  delusion.  Mr. 
Lincoln  did  not  think  so.  It  happened  under  the 
authority  of  a  military  officer  who  now  graces  this 
body  with  his  presence,  the  Senator  from  Rhode 
Island  (Mr.  Burnside),  that  Mr.  Vallandigham  was 
arrested.  His  release  was  sought  by  a  committee 
of  a  great  convention  of  the  Democrats  of  Ohio. 
They  had  a  very  notable  interview,  and  a  very 
notable  correspondence  with  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  I 
beg  after  the  lapse  of  fifteen  or  sixteen  years  to 
refer  to  that  correspondence.  I  will  read  an  ex 
tract,  the  moral  of  which  will  explain  itself:  "At 
the  same  time"  (says  Mr.  Lincoln)  "your  nomi 
nee  for  Governor,  in  whose  behalf  you  appeal,  is 
known  to  you  and  to  the  world  to  declare  against 
the  use  of  an  army  to  suppress  the  rebellion. 
Your  own  attitude,  therefore,  encourages  deser 
tion,  resistance  to  the  draft,  and  the  like,  because 
it  teaches  those  who  incline  to  desert  and  to  es 
cape  the  draft,  to  believe  it  is  your  purpose  to 
protect  them,  and  to  hope  that  you  will  become 
strong  enough  to  do  so.  After  a  short  personal  in 
tercourse  with  you,  gentlemen  of  the  committee,  I 
cannot  say  I  think  you  desire  this  effect  to  follow 
your  attitude  ;  but  I  assure  you  that  both  friends 
and  enemies  of  the  Union  look  upon  it  in  this 

light. " 


NATIONAL   SOVEREIGNTY.  247 

Mr  Lincoln  distinctly  understood  how  the 
South  regarded  it.  "  Both  friends  and  enemies  of 
the  Union  look  upon  it  in  this  light.  It  is  a  sub 
stantial  hope,  and  by  consequence  a  real  strength 
to  the  enemy.  It  is  a  false  hope,  and  one  which 
you  would  willingly  dispel.  I  will  make  the  way 
exceedingly  easy.  I  send  you  duplicates  of  this 
letter  in  order  that  you,  or  a  majority,  may,  if  you 
choose,  indorse  your  names  upon  one  of  them, 
and  return  it  thus  indorsed  to  me,  with  the  under 
standing  that  those  signing  are  thereby  committed 
to  the  following  propositions,  and  to  nothing  else." 

Now,  mark  you,  he  was  addressing  a  committee 
that  represented  the  Democratic  party  of  Ohio, 
speaking  for  the  whole  party.  Mr.  Lincoln  says — 
I  want  you  to  commit  yourself  just  to  this,  gentle 
men,  nothing  else  :  "  i.  That  there  is  now  a  re 
bellion  in  the  United  States,  the  object  and  ten 
dency  of  which  is  to  destroy  the  National  Union  ; 
and  that  in  your  opinion,  an  army  and  navy  are 
constitutional  means  for  suppressing  that  rebel 
lion  ;  2.  That  no  one  will  do  anything  which,  in 
his  own  judgment,  will  tend  to  hinder  the  increase 
or  favor  the  decrease  or  lessen  the  efficiency  of 
the  army  and  navy,  while  engaged  in  the  effort  to 
suppress  that  rebellion  ;  and  3.  That  each  of  you 
will,  in  his  sphere,  do  all  he  can  to  have  the  of 
ficers,  soldiers  and  seamen  of  the  army  and  navy, 
while  engaged  in  the  effort  to  suppress  the  rebel 
lion,  paid,  fed,  clad,  and  otherwise  well  provided 


243  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

for  and  supported.  And  with  the  further  under 
standing  that,  upon  receiving  the  letter  and  names 
thus  indorsed,  I  will  cause  them  to  be  published, 
which  publication  shall  be,  within  itself,  a  revoca 
tion  of  the  order  in  relation  to  Mr.  Vallandig- 
ham." 

And  this  party,  this  Northern  Democratic  party 
that  fought  out  the  rebellion  and  restored  the 
Union,  would  not  put  their  names  to  these  prop 
ositions.  These  representatives  of  a  State  con 
vention  that  spoke  for  the  entire  party  would  not 
acknowledge  that  there  was  a  rebellion,  would 
not  acknowledge  that  an  army  and  navy  could  be 
used  to  suppress  it,  would  not  acknowledge  that 
they  would  clo  anything  whatever  to  aid  in  paying  or 
feeding  or  clothing  or  supporting  that  army.  So 
Mr.  Lincoln  has  given  them,  in  another  letter  on 
the  same  subject,  a  letter  addressed  to  Mr.  Cor 
ning,  of  New  York,  a  little  advice,  applicable  to 
both — advice  which  I  think  will  live  for  its  patriot 
ism  and  eloquence  almost  as  long  as  his  Gettys 
burg  speech.  He  wrote  to  Mr.  Corning  :  "Long 
experience  has  shown  that  armies  cannot  be  main 
tained  unless  desertion  shall  be  punished  by  the 
severe  penalty  of  death.  The  case  requires,  and 
the  law  and  Constitution  sanction,  this  punishment. 
Must  I  shoot  a  simple-minded  soldier-boy  who  de 
serts,  while  I  must  not  touch  a  hair  of  a  wily  agi 
tator  who  induces  him  to  desert  ?  This  is  none 
the  less  injurious  when  effected  by  getting  a 


NATIONAL   SOVEREIGNTY.  249 

father,  or  brother,  or  friend  into  a  public  meeting-, 
and  there  working"  upon  his  feelings  until  he  is 
persuaded  to  write  the  soldier-boy  that  he  is  fighting 
in  a  bad  cause,  for  a  wicked  administration  of  a 
contemptible  government,  too  weak  to  arrest  and 
punish  him  if  he  shall  desert.  I  think  that,  in 
such  a  case,  to  silence  the  agitator  and  to  save  the 
boy  is  not  only  constitutional,  but  withal  a  great 
mercy." 

That  is  what  he  did.  He  sent  a  good  many  of 
the  Democratic  agitators  to  Fort  Lafayette  and 
saved  the  boys. 

Mr.  President,  I  do  not  think  that  the  evil  that 
has  been  done  to  this  country,  by  publications  like 
the  one  I  referred  to  from  Mr.  Alexander  H.  Ste 
phens,  has  yet  been  measured.  I  do  not  think  the 
evil  that  has  been  done  to  the  Southern  country 
by  the  school-books  in  the  hands  of  their  children 
has  been  measured.  Many  of  the  books  put 
into  the  hands  of  the  rising  generation  of  the 
South  are  tinctured  all  through  with  prejudice 
and  misrepresentation  and  with  a  spirit  of 
hatred. 

We  are  accused  by  our  friends  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  chamber  of  stirring  up  strife  and  gen- 
crating  hatred.  I  do  not  believe  it  would  be  pos 
sible  to  find  in  all  the  literature  of  the  North  fof 
the  schools  and  for  the  young  a  solitary  paragraph 
intended  or  calculated  to  arouse  hatred  or  suggest 
unpatriotic  feelings  toward  any  portion  of 


250  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

Union.  A  large  portion  of  the  South  has  been 
furnished  with  special  school-books  calculated  for 
the  meridian,  with  the  facts  appended  to  suit  that 
particular  locality.  It  was  said  that  for  two  gen 
erations  a  large  portion  of  the  English  people 
believed  that  the  American  colonies  had  never 
achieved  their  independence  but  had  been  kicked 
off  as  a  useless  appendage  to  the  British  Empire, 
and  that  they  were  glad  to  be  rid  of  us.  There 
is  a  large  number  of  school-children  in  the  South 
who  are  educated  with  radically  wrong  notions 
and  radically  erroneous  facts,  I  saw  an  arithme 
tic  that  was  filled  with  examples — think  of  putting 
politics  into  arithmetic — such  as  this  :  If  ten  cow 
ardly  Yankees  had  so  many  miles  the  start,  and 
five  brave  Confederates  were  following  them,  the 
first  going  at  so  many  miles  an  hour,  and  the  others 
following  at  so  many  miles  an  hour,  how  long  before 
the  Yankees  would  be  overtaken  ?  Now  think  of 
putting  that  deliberately  in  a  school-book  and  hav 
ing  school  histories  made  up  on  that  basis  for 
children.  I  have  here  from  a  gentleman  who,  I 
believe,  is  a  man  of  high  position,  an  extract  which 
is  so  pertinent  that  I  desire  to  read  it.  It  is  from  an 
address  before  the  literary  societies  of  the  Virgin 
ia  University,  by  Mr.  John  S.  Preston,  a  gentleman 
of  distinction,  I  believe,  in  the  State  of  South  Car 
olina.  I  want  to  read  this  merely  to  put  it  on 
record  to  show  the  pabulum  on  which  the  South 
ern  mind  feeds  :  "The  Mayflower  freight  under 


NATIONAL   SOVEREIGNTY. 

the  laws  of  England  was  heresy  and  crime.    The 
Jamestown    emigrant  was  an    English   freeman, 

Jo  <;> 

loyal  to  his  country  and  his  God,  with  England's 
honor  in  his  heart  and  English  piety  in  his  soul, 
and  carrying  in  his  right  hand  the  charters,  usages 
and  the  laws  which  were  achieving  the  regen 
eration  of  England.  *  These  two  people 
spoke  the  same  language,  and  nominally  read  the 
same  Bible  ;  but  like  the  offspring  of  the  Syrian 
princes,  they  were  two  manner  of  people,  and 
they  could  not  coalesce  or  commune.  Their  feud 
began  beyond  the  broad  Atlantic,  and  has  never 
ceased  on  its  Western  shores.  Not  space,  or 
time,  or  the  convenience  of  any  human  law,  or 
the  power  of  any  human  arm,  can  reconcile  insti 
tutions  for  the  turbulent  fanatic  of  Plymouth  Rock 
and  the  God-fearing  Christian  of  Jamestown. 
You  may  assign  them  to  the  closest  territorial 
proximity,  with  all  the  forms,  modes  and  shows  of 
civilization  ;  but  you  can  never  cement  them  into 
the  bonds  of  brotherhood.  Great  Nature,  in  her 
supremest  law,  forbids  it.  Territorial  localization 
drove  them  to  a  hollow  and  unnatural  armistice  in 
effecting  their  segregation  from  England — the  one' 
for  the  lucre  of  traffic,  the  other  to  obtain  a  more 
perfect  law  of  liberty  ;  the  one  to  destroy  foreign 
tea,  the  other  to  drive  out  foreign  tyrants  ;  the 
one  to  offer  thanksgiving  for  the  fruit  of  the 
earth,  the  other  to  celebrate  the  gift  of  grace  by 
the  birth  of  Christ." 


JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

I  havejiere  also  a  speech  delivered  by  the  hon 
orable  Senator  from  Soutk  Carolina,  the  junior 
Senator  from  that  State  (Mr.  Hampton),  before 
the  Historical  Society,  I  believe,  of  the  South,  and 
this  has  arrested  my  attention.  Of  course,  I  read 
it  in  no  spirit  of  captious  or  personal  criticism, 
but  as  a  great  public  document ;  and  if  what  I 
read  means  anything,  it  means  a  great  deal: — 

"  LESSONS  FROM  HISTORY. — These  are  the  lessons 
our  children  should  learn  from  their  mothers. 
Nor  are  these  the  only  ones  which  should  be  in 
culcated,  for  the  pages  of  history  furnish  many 
which  should  not  be  overlooked.  These  teach, 
in  the  clearest  and  most  emphatic  manner, 
that  there  is  always  hope  for  a  people  who 
cherish  the  spirit  of  freedom,  who  will  not 
tamely  give  up  their  rights,  and  who  amid 
all  the  changes  of  time,  the  trials  of  adversity,  re 
main  steadfast  to  their  convictions  that  liberty  is 
their  birthright. 

"THE  SOUTH  COMPARED  TO  PRUSSIA  AND  THE 
NORTH  TO  FRANCE. — When  Napoleon,  in  that 
wonderful  campaign  of  Jena,  struck  down  in  a 
few  weeks  the  whole  military  strength  of  Prussia, 
destroyed  that  army  with  which  the  great  Frede 
rick  had  held  at  bay  the  combined  forces  of  Eu 
rope,  and  crushed  out,  apparently  forever,  the 
liberties,  seemingly  the  very  existence  of  that 
great  State,  but  one  hope  of  her  disenthralrnent 
and  regeneration  was  left  her — the  unconquered 


w 
< 

w 

in 

W 


NATIONAL   SOVEREIGNTY.  255 

and  unconquerable  patriotism  of  her  sons.  As  far 
as  human  foresight  could  penetrate  the  future,  this 
hope  appeared  but  a  vain  and  delusive  one  ;  yet 
only  a  few  years  passed  before  her  troops  turned 
the  scale  of  victory  of  Waterloo,  and  the  treaty  of 
Paris  atoned  in  part  for  the  mortification  of  that  of 
Tilsit.  She  educated  her  children  by  a  system 
which  made  them  good  citizens  in  peace  and  for 
midable  soldiers  in  war  ;  she  kindled  and  kept 
alive  the  sacred  fire  of  patriotism  ;  she  woke  the 
slumbering  spirit  of  the  Fatherland  ;  and  what  has 
been  the  result  of  this  self-devotion  of  a  whole 
people  for  half  a  century?  Single-handed,  she  has 
just  met  her  old  antagonist.  The  shame  of  her 
defeats  of  yore  has  been  wiped  out  by  glorious 
victories  ;  the  contributions  extorted  from  her  have 
been  more  than  repaid  ;  her  insults  have  been 
avenged,  and  her  victorious  eagles,  sweeping  over 
the  broken  lilies  of  her  enemy,  waved  in  triumph 
from  the  walls  of  conquered  Paris,  while  she  dic 
tated  peace  to  prostrate  and  humble  France.  Is 
not  the  moral  to  be  drawn  from  this  noble  dedica 
tion  of  a  people  to  the  interests  and  honor  of  their 
country  worth  remembering?  Hungary,  in  her  re 
cent  struggle  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  Austria, 
was  crushed  to  the  earth,  and  yet  to  day  the  Hun 
garians,  as  citizens  of  Austria,  exercise  a  con 
trolling  power  in  that  great  empire.  " 

If  the  Senator  speaks  of  a  revival    of  a  power 
that    was    once   conqured,    to    be    victorious    at 
'5 


256  JAMES  G.  BLA1NE. 

another  Waterloo,  with  a  crowning  peace  in  Paris 
to  atone  for  the  humiliation  of  Tilsit — if  that  means 
anything  by  analogy  at  all,  it  has  a  deep  and  far- 
reaching  significance. 

o         o 

MR.  HAMPTON: 

"  Peace  hath  her  victories 
No  less  renown'd  than  war." 

MR.  ELAINE. — But  peace  does  not  celebrate  her 
victories  on  the  plains  of  Waterloo.  That  is  where 
war  celebrates  its  triumphs.  Peace  does  not  cele 
brate  itself  by  great  armed  hosts  that  are  employed 
and  marshalled  for  avenging  result,  to  which 
the  honorable  Senator  called  attention.  That  is 
not  the  language  of  peace,  and  without  the  slight 
est  intention  to  say  anything  discourteous,  I  say  it 
is  mere  rhetoric — I  leave  out  the  adjective — it  is 
mere  rhetoric,  or  it  is  a  prodigious  menace.  It  is 
the  one  or  the  other. 

As  to  the  pending  bill,  I  need  only  to  say  that 
the  laws  proposed  to  be  repealed  are  precisely 
the  kind  which  Mr.  Webster  alluded  to  when  he 
addressed  Mr.  Calhoun  ;  laws  that  have  received 
the  sanction  of  Congress  and  been  for  years  on 
the  statute  book.  They  are  there  properly.  They 
have  secured  justice ;  they  have  assured  fair  and 
equal  elections  ;  they  ought  to  be  upheld  ;  and  to 
this  hour  not  one  solitary  reason  has  been  shown 
for  their  repeal,  with  the  single  exception  of  a  de 
sire  to  grasp  partisan  power.  It  all  moves  in  one 
direction  Every  step  has  been  taken  since  the 


NATIONAT.    SOVEREIGNTY.  257 

Democratic  party  got  into  power  in  the  House 
and  in  the  Senate  in  one  direction,  and  that  direc 
tion  has  been  to  the  striking  down  of  the  Fed 
eral  power  and  the  exaltation  of  the  State  power. 
This  measure  is  but  one.  Others  have  gone  before 
it ;  others  are  to  follow  it.  What  may  be  their 
fate  I  do  not  know.  We  on  this  side  will  resist  by 
every  constitutional  means,  and  you  on  that  side, 
despite  the  threats  of  the  Senator  from  Connecti 
cut,  will  be  obliged  to  submit  in  the  end,  and  the 
power  of  this  Government  will  not  be  put  down 
by  a  threat ;  it  will  not  be  put  down  by  a  combi 
nation  ;  it  will  not  be  put  down  by  a  political 
party.  It  was  not  put  down  by  a  rebellion.  It 
can  meet  another,  either  in  the  form  of  organized 
resistance  in  withholding  supplies  or  in  the  more 
serious  form  which  the  language  of  the  Senator 
from  South  Carolina  seemed  to  foreshadow. 


CHAPTER  X. 

1876    AND     I880. 

Interest  in  the  Political  Contest  of  the  Centennial  Year — The  Rival  Re 
publican  Candidates — Mr.  Elaine's  Prostration — Presentation  of  His 
Name  at  the  Cincinnati  Convention — Colonel  Ingersoll's  Speech — 
"The  Plumed  Knight" — Nomination  of  Governor  Hayes — The  Con 
vention  of  1880 — The  Third  Term  Question — Steadfastness  of  the 
Grant  and  Elaine  Forces — A  Long  Deadlock — The  Final  Compromise 
on  Garfield. 

There  is  no  need  of  dwelling   in    detail  here 

o 

upon  the  extraordinary  interest  that  invested 
the  Presidential  campaign  of  1876  and  the  causes 
thereof.  It  must  all  be  perfectly  clear  to  every 
reader  of  the  history  of  those  times.  It  was 
really  the  first  serious  contest  since  the  advent  of 
the  Republican  party  to  power,  immediately  be 
fore  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  The  re-nomination 
of  Lincoln  in  1864  was  a  matter  of  course,  and 
his  re-election  was  almost  equally  so.  In  1868 
there  was  only  one  possible  candidate,  Grant ;  and 
his  re-nomination  and  re-election  in  1872  were, 
despite  a  considerable  revolt  within  the  party,  a 
foregone  conclusion. 

Now,  however,  there  was  no  one  dominant  can 
didate  in  the  Republican  party.  A  third  term  for 
Grant  was  out  of  the  question,  and  there  was  a 
general  feeling  that  the  next  President  would  best 
be  chosen  from  civil  rather  than  from  military  life. 
Moreover,  the  Republican  candidate  would  not 

258  • 


AND  1880.  259 

have  such  an  easy  campaign  and  such  a  sure 
victory  as  Grant  had  enjoyed.  The  revolt  of 
1872  had  materially  weakened  the  party,  in  num 
bers  and  discipline.  In  the  South  the  former 
Rebels  had  regained  political  power  and  were,  by 
various  extra-legal  means,  making  their  States 
surely  Democratic.  The  financial  distress  of  1873 
had  affected  the  whole  nation,  and  naturally  in- 
spired  many  people  with  an  idea  that  a  change  in 
the  politics  of  the  National  Administration  would 
be  a  good  thing.  Various  departmental  scandals  at 
Washington  had  brought  discredit  upon  the  party 
in  power.  The  great  victories  of  the  Democrats 
in  the  Congressional  .elections  of  1874  had  en 
couraged  the  hope  that  they  would  win  the  Presi 
dency  in  1876  ;  especially  should  they  nominate — 
as  they  did — Mr.  Tilden,  who,  as  Governor  of 
New  York,  had  won  national  fame  and  favor  as  a 
reformer  and  a  wise  statesman.  It  was  evident, 
therefore,  that  the  battle  would  be  almost  unpre- 
cedentedly  hot  and  close,  and  it  was  most  desir 
able  to  put  forward  the  very  strongest  candidate 
that  could  be  found. 

The  foremost  candidate  for  the  nomination  was 
unquestionably  Mr  Elaine.  There  was  no  man 
in  the  party  better  known  or  more  admired  than 
he.  His  distinguished  services  in  the  House  of 
Representatives  had  placed  him  in  the  foremost 
rank  of  statesmen  and  of  party  leaders.  His  vigor 
ous  speeches,  of  recent  date,  upholding  the 


260  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

sovereignty  of  the  Nation  against  the  attacks  of  the 
ex-Rebels  in  Congress,  had  greatly  endeared  him 
to  the  North,  already  anxious  over  the  returning 
power  of  the  Southern  Democrats.  Long  before 
the  Convention  opened,  it  was  evident  to  all  well- 
informed  observers  that  he  would  have  by  far  the 
strongest  following  in  that  body.  He  represented 
civil,  not  military,  life  ;  and  while  generally  a  stead 
fast  supporter  of  the  Republican  Administration, 
he  was  by  no  means  so  closely  identified  with  its 
interests  as  to  share  in  the  odium  of  its  various 
scandals.  For  this  reason  he  was  held  by  a  very 
considerable  portion  of  the  party  to  be  the  strong 
est  candidate  that  could  be  chosen. 

His  chief  rival  was  Roscoe  Conkling,  of  New 
York,  the  leader  of  the  Republican  party  in  the 
National  Senate.  This  brilliant  and  eloquent 
statesman  was  the  most  intimate  friend  of  Grant, 
and  had  as  his  support  the  ''Administration  wing" 
of  the  party.  At  the  same  time  his  austere  virtue 
held  him  free  from  any  suspicion  of  complicity  in 
die  jobbery  that  prevailed  in  some  of  the  depart 
ments  at  Washington.  His  character  was  snot- 
less,  his  services  to  the  State  were  distinguished, 
his  abilities  were  of  the  highest  order,  and  he  was 
one  of  the  most  astute  and  successful  of  party 
leaders. 

Other  conspicuous  candidates  were  Senator 
Morton,  the  famous  "  War  Governor  "  of  Indiana  ; 
Benjamin  H.  Bristow,  of  Kentucky,  who  had 


iS?b  AND   iSSo.  26l  ' 

achieved  an  enviable  record  as  Secretary  of  the 
Treasury;  Governor  Hartranft,  of  Pennsylvania, 
who  had  also  a  fine  record  of  military  service  ; 
Governor  Jewell,  of  Connecticut,  who  had  served 
the  Nation  in  various  important  offices,  at  home 
and  abroad ;  and  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  of  Ohio, 
who  had  served  with  distinction  in  the  war,  and 
who  had  won  a  splendid  victory  at  the  polls  in 
Ohio,  being  elected  Governor  on  an  "honest 
money  "  platform,  against  the  "  fiat  money  "  craze 
which  was  then  raging  in  that  State  with  especial 
virulence. 

The  "  Mulligan  letters"  affair,  already  recorded 
in  this  volume,  had  been  threshed  out  in  Congress 

o 

and  in  the  newspaper  press  of  the  country,  just 
before  the  meeting  of  the  Convention.  It  is  not 
likely  that  it  had  much  effect  upon  the  action  of 
the  latter  body.  Mr.  Elaine  had  splendidly  vindi 
cated  himself  and  thrown  his  enemies  into  dire 
confusion.  There  was,  therefore,  no  reason  for 
the  alienation  of  any  of  his  supporters,  nor  does 
it  appear  that  any  of  them  were  alienated.  On 
the  contrary,  there  was  reason  for  regarding  him 
with  sympathy  and  admiration  ;  and  doubtless 
those  feelings  toward  him  were  considerably  in 
creased.  Yet  such  considerations  were  not 
greatly  calculated  to  influence  votes  in  the  Con 
vention. 

On  the  very  eve  of  the  gathering  at  Cincinnati, 
however,  another  event  occurred  of  much  more 


262  JAMES   G.  BLA2NE. 

grave  importance  than  the  attacks  of  political  foes. 
For  many  weeks  Mr.  Elaine  had  been  exceedingly 
busy.  He  had  been  busy  with  his  work  as  a  Rep 
resentative  in  Congress — one  of  the  most  active 
and  industrious  men  in  the  House.  He  had  been 
busy  repelling  the  assaults  of  those  who  strove  to 
defame  him  and  to  effect  his  political  destruction. 
He  had  been  busy,  too,  with  the  furtherance  of 
his  own  ambition,  that  most  exalted  and  most 
laudable  ambition  of  American  citizenship,  to  be 
chosen  by  the  free  suffrages  of  the  Nation  to  be 
its  Chief  Executive.  Mr.  Blaine  doubtless  at  this 
time,  as  at  other  times  since,  earnestly  desired  to 
become  President.  For  that  desire,  no  apologies 
need  ever  to  be  made.  The  man  who  seeks  such 
office  basely  and  by  unworthy  means,  deserves 
only  the  uttermost  condemnation.  But  the  man 
who,  like  Mr.  Blaine,  seeks  it  by  making  himself 
worthy  of  it,  by  cherishing  high  character  and 
achieving  noble  deeds  for  the  public  weal,  is  in 
even  that  very  ambition  a  most  admirable  example 
and  pattern  for  the  moulding  of  American  citizen^ 
ship. 

But  these  manifold  activities  and  anxieties  told 
seriously  upon  Mr.  Elaine's  physical  condition. 
More,  perhaps,  than  he  was  aware,  his  nerves  were 
strained,  his  brain  wearied,  his  constitution  weak 
ened  in  all  its  vital  energies.  At  the  middle  of  June 
the  weather  became  intensely  hot.  Sunday,  the 
nth,  was  a  particularly  oppressive  day,  and  the 


1876  AND  1880.  263 

streets  of  Washington  were  like  the  mouths  of  a 
furnace.  That  day,  when  the  sun  was  approaching 
his  meridian  fervor,  Mr.  Elaine  set  out  for  church, 
accompanied  by  four  ladies  of  his  family.  The  dis 
tance  was  about  half  a  mile.  As  they  walked 
along,  the  ladies,  under  their  sun  umbrellas,  com 
plained  much  of  the  heat ;  but  Mr.  Elaine,  not 
thus  protected,  scarcely  seemed  to  notice  it.  He 
was  apparently  in  perfect  health,  and  certainly  in 
splendid  spirits.  The  church  which  they  attended 
was  Dr.  Rankin's,  a  Congregational  church,  at 
Tenth  and  D  streets.  Just  as  the  party  reached 
the  church  door,  Mr.  Elaine  stopped  suddenly, 
and  pressed  a  handkerchief  upon  his  eyes.  Mrs. 
Elaine  laughingly  asked  him  what  was  the  matter, 
if  he  had  got  some  dust  in  his  eyes. 

"  No,"  he  said,  gasping  for  breath,  ''but  I — I 
think  I  am  sunstruck.  Oh,  my  head  !" 

With  that  he  sunk  down  upon  the  church  steps, 
insensible.  Mrs.  Elaine  supported  his  head  in  her 
arms,  while  their  little  daughter  Hattie,  five  years 
old,  ran  into  the  church  and  called  some  friends 
to  their  assistance.  A  passing  omnibus  was 
hailed,  and  the  prostrate  man  was  lifted  into  it 
and  carried  to  his  home.  On  being  carried  into 
the  house  he  revived  sufficiently  to  say,  "Lay  me 
on  the  floor."  He  was  accordingly  placed  upon 
the  parlor  floor,  with  a  pillow  beneath  his  head, 
and  a  little  later  a  bed  was  arranged  in  that  room 
and  he  was  laid  upon  it. 


264  JAMES   G.   ftLAIXE. 

Thus  he  lay,  from  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morn 
ing  until  a  quarter  past  four  in  the  afternoon, 
speechless  and  almost  lifeless.  For  the  first  two 
hours  he  was  apparently  insensible  ;  his  eyes  wide 
open  but  expressionless  and  immovable,  his  limbs 
limp  but  motionless,  and  only  a  weak  breathing 
to  indicate  the  presence  of  life.  Gradually,  how 
ever,  intelligence  returned  to  his  eyes,  and  it  was 
evident  that  consciousness  had  returned.  Now 
and  then  he  groaned  slightly,  and  his  eyelids 
moved.  He  remained  speechless,  however,  and 
made  no  response  to  any  questions  put  to  him  by 
his  attendants.  Late  in  the  afternoon  Mrs.  Elaine 
asked  him  earnestly,  "  James,  do  you  not  know 
me  ?"  and  to  her  delight  he  uttered  her  name  in  re 
ply.  Presently  he  asked, "  What  is  it  ?"  and  then,  as 
if  only  half  conscious,  "Where  am  I?"  All  the 
evening  he  lay,  conscious  but  motionless  ;  and  at 
ten  o'clock  fell  asleep.  During  Monday  he  con 
tinued  to  improve,  and  on  Tuesday  was  able  to  sit 
up  and  read  and  write.  That  evening  he  wrote 
with  his  own  hand  this  despatch  to  his  friend  the 
Hon.  Eugene  Hale,  at  Cincinnati  : 

"  EUGENE  HALE: — I  am  entirely  convalescent,  suffering  only,  from 
physical  weakness.  Impress  upon  my  friends  the  great  depth  of  gratitude 
I  feel  for  the  unparalleled  steadfastness  with  which  they  have  adhered  to 
rnu  in  my  hour  of  trial.  J.  G.  ELAINE." 

No  description  can  do  justice  to  the  excitement 
that  prevailed  in  Washington  when  the  news  of 
Mr.  Elaine's  prostration  became  known.  The  fall 


1876  AND  iSSo.  265 

of  the  President  himself  could  scarcely  have 
created  a  greater  sensation.  All  Sunday  afternoon 
and  evening  crowds  of  thousands  of  people  gath 
ered  about  his  house,  waiting  for  tidings  from  his 

O  £> 

bedside.  At  the  hotels  and  clubs  and  wherever 
people  met,  there  was  but  one  topic  of  conversa 
tion.  All  sorts  of  rumors  were  extant :  that  he 
was  dying,  or  dead  ;  that  he  was  hopelessly  para 
lyzed  ;  that  his  mind  was  lost  and  could  never  be 
regained. 

In  Cincinnati,  too,  the  interest  was  equally 
great.  Already  most  of  the  delegates  were  there, 
ready  for  the  Convention  which  was  to  open  on 
Wednesday.  When  news  of  Mr.  Elaine's  pros 
tration  was  received,  his  supporters  and  friends 
were  stricken  with  consternation.  It  seemed  a 
death-blow  to  his  candidacy.  Even  when  it  was 
known  that  he  was  rapidly  recovering,  his  oppo 
nents  did  not  cease  to  make  malevolent  use  of  the 
incident.  They  argued  that  his  physical  health 
was  probably  much  impaired,  so  that  he  could  not 
stand  the  strain  of  a  Presidential  campaign  ;  even 
that  his  mind  was  permanently  affected,  and  that 
he  would  never  display  again  that  vigor  and  ac 
tivity  of  intellect  that  had  made  him  a  giant  in 
debate.  These  considerations  were  pressed  home 
to  his  supporters  unceasingly,  and  still  more  per 
sistently  to  those  uncommitted  delegates  who 
were  likely  to  be  won  over  to  his  side.  How  little 
effect  these  arguments  had,  may  be  seen  in  the 


JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

result  of  the  balloting  in  the  Convention.  Before 
the  "Mulligan  letters"  had  been  brought  out, 
and  before  his  illness,  it  was  estimated  that  he 
would  have  286  votes  on  the  first  ballot.  He  act 
ually  received  285,  and  on  the  second,  imme 
diately  afterward,  296. 

The  Convention  met  on  Wednesday,  June  I4th, 
with  the  Hon.  Edward  McPherson  as  presiding 
officer.  On  Thursday  the  Declaration  of  Princi 
ples  was  adopted,  and  the  candidates  were  placed 
formally  in  nomination.  The  roll  of  States  was 
called,  alphabetically,  and  each  named  its  choice. 
Connecticut  put  forward  Marshall  Jewell ;  Indiana, 
Oliver  P.  Morton.  Kentucky's  choice,  Benjamin 
H.  Bristow,  was  eloquently  introduced  by  George 
William  Curtis,  of  New  York.  James  G.  Blaine, 
of  Maine,  was  named  by  Robert  G.  Ingersoll,  of 
Illinois.  New  York  nominated  Roscoe  Conkling;  • 

O   ' 

Ohio,  Rutherford  B.  Hayes ;  and  Pennsylvania, 
John  F.  Hartranft. 

The  speech  of  Colonel  Ingersoll,  nominating 
Mr.  Blaine,  was  singularly  effective  and  inspiring. 
One  phrase  in  it,  especially,  has  become  historic, 
and  has  fixed  upon  Mr.  Blaine  a  popular  title,  by 
which  he  will  ever  be  known — "the  Plumed 
Knight."  The  speaker  immediately  preceding  Col 
onel  Ingersoll  was  from  Massachusetts,  and  spoke 
in  favor  of  Bristow,  dwelling  upon  the  confidence 
which  the  people  of  the  Old  Bay  State  had  in  his 
ability,  integrity  and  loyalty.  While  those  words 


i*?6   AND   jSSo.  267 

were  yet  echoing  in  the  ears  of  the  Convention, 
Colonel  Ingersoll  arose,  and  spoke  as  follows : 

"Mr.  Chairman,  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: — Mas 
sachusetts  may  be  satisfied  with  the  loyalty  of 
Benjamin  H.  Bristow  ;  so  am  I ;  but  if  any  man 
nominated  by  this  Convention  cannot  carry  the 
State  of  Massachusetts,  I  am  not  satisfied  with 
the  loyalty  of  that  State.  If  the  nominee  of  this 
Convention  cannot  carry  the  grand  old  Common 
wealth  of  Massachusetts  by  seventy-five  thousand 
majority,  I  would  advise  them  to  sell  out  Faneuil 
Hall  as  a  Democratic  headquarters.  I  would  ad 
vise  them  to  take  from  Bunker  Hill  that  old  mon 
ument  of  glory. 

"The  Republicans  of  the  United  States  de 
mand  as  their  leader  in  the  great  contest  of  1876 
a  man  of  intelligence,  a  man  of  integrity,  a  man 
of  well-known  and  approved  political  opinions. 
They  demand  a  statesman  ;  they  demand  a  re 
former  after  as  well  as  before  the  election.  They 
demand  a  politician  in  the  highest,  broadest  and 
best  sense — a  man  of  superb  moral  courage. 
They  demand  a  man  acquainted  with  public  af 
fairs,  with  the  wants  of  the  people  ;  with  not  only 
the  requirements  of  the  hour,  but  with  the  de 
mands  of  the  future.  (Applause.) 

"They  demand  a  man  broad  enough  to  com 
prehend  the  relations  of  this  government  to  the 
other  nations  of  the  earth.  They  demand  a  man 
well  versed  in  the  powers,  duties  and  prerogatives 


268  JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

of  each  and  every  department  of  this  govern 
ment.  They  demand  a  man  who  will  sacredly 
preserve  the  financial  honor  of  the  United  States  ; 
one  who  knows  enough  to  know  that  the  national 
debt  must  be  paid  through  the  prosperity  of  this 
people  ;  one  who  knows  enough  to  know  that  all 
the  financial  theories  in  the  world  cannot  redeem 
a  single  dollar  ;  one  who  knows  enough  to  know 
that  all  the  money  must  be  made,  not  by  law,  but 
by  labor ;  one  who  knows  enough  to  know  that 
all  the  people  of  the  United  States  have  the  in 
dustry  to  make  the  money,  and  the  honor  to  pay  it 
over  just  as  fast  as  they  make  it.  (Applause.) 

"The  Republicans  of  the  United  States  de 
mand  a  man  wrho  knows  that  prosperity  and 
resumption,  when  they  come,  must  corne  together  ; 
that  when  they  come,  they  will  come  hand  in  hand 
through  the  golden  harvest  fields  ;  hand  in  hand 
by  the  whirling  spindles  and  the  turning  wheels  ; 
hand  in  hand  past  the  open  furnace  doors  ;  hand 
in  hand  by  the  chimneys  filled  with  eager  fire, 
greeted  and  grasped  by  the  countless  sons  of  toil. 
This  money  has  to  be  dug  out  of  the  earth.  You 
cannot  make  it  by  passing  resolutions  in  a  polit 
ical  Convention.  (Applause.) 

"The  Republicans  of  the  United  States  want  a 
man  who  .knows  that  this  government  should  pro 
tect  every  citizen  at  home  and  abroad  ;  who 
knows  that  any  government  that  will  not  defend 
its  defenders,  and  protect  its  protectors,  is  a 


iSfb   AND   jSSo.  269 

disgrace  to  the  map  of  the  world.  They  demand  a 
man  who  believes  in  the  eternal  separation  and 
divorcement  of  church  and  school.  They  de 
mand  a  man  whose  political  reputation  is  as  spot 
less  as  a  star  ;  but  they  do  not  demand  that  their 
candidate  shall  have  a  certificate  of  moral  char 
acter  signed  by  a  confederate  Congress.  The 
man  who  has,  in  full,  heaped  and  rounded  meas 
ure,  all  these  splendid  qualifications,  is  the  present 
grand  and  gallant  leader  of  the  Republican  party 
— James  G.  Blaine.  (Great  applause.) 

"  Our  country,  crowned  with  the  vast  and  mar 
velous  achievements  of  its  first  century,  asks  for 
a  man  worthy  of  the  past,  and  prophetic  of  her 
future  ;  asks  for  a  man  who  has  the  audacity  of 
genius  ;  asks  for  a  man  who  is  the  grandest  com 
bination  of  heart,  conscience  and  brain  beneath 
her  flag — such  a  man  is  James  G.  Blaine.  (Ap 
plause.) 

"For  the  Republican  host,  led  by  this  intrepid 
man,  there  can  be  no  defeat. 

"This  is  a  grand  year — a  year  filled  with  rec 
ollections  of  the  Revolution  ;  filled  with  the  proud 
and  tender  memories  of  the  past ;  with  the  sacred 
legends  of  liberty — a  year  in  which  the  sons  of 
freedom  will  drink  from  the  fountain  of  enthusi 
asm  ;  a  year  in  which  the  people  call  for  a  man 
who  has  preserved  in  Congress  what  our  soldiers 
won  upon  the  field  ;  a  year  in  which  they  call  for 
the  man  who  has  torn  from  the  throat  ot  treason 


27Q  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

the  tongue  of  slander — for  the  man  who  has 
snatched  the  mask  of  Democracy  from  the  hid 
eous  face  of  rebellion  ;  for  this  man  who,  like  an 
intellectual  athlete,  has  stoo  1  in  the  arena  of  de 
bate  and  challenged  all  comers,  and  who  is  still  a 
total  stranger  to  defeat.  (Applause.) 

"Like  an  armed  warrior,  like  a  plumed  knight, 
James  G.  Elaine  marched  down  the  halls  of  the 
American  Congress  and  threw  his  shining  lance 
full  and  fair  against  the  brazen  foreheads  of  the 
defamers  of  his  country  and  the  maligners  of  his 
honor.  For  the  Republican  party  to  desert  this 
gallant  leader  now,  is  as  though  an  army  should 
desert  their  general  upon  the  field  of  battle. 
(Applause.) 

"James  G.  Blaine  is  now,  and  has  been  for 
years,  the  bearer  of  the  sacred  standard  of  the 
Republican  party.  I  call  it  sacred,  because  no 
human  being  can  stand  beneath  its  folds  without 
becoming  and  without  remaining  free. 

"Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  in  the  name  of 
the  great  Republic,  the  only  Republic  that  ever 
existed  upon  this  earth  ;  in  the  name  of  all  her 
defenders  and  of  all  her  supporters  ;  in  the  name 
of  all  her  soldiers  living ;  m  the  name  of  all  her 
soldiers  dead  upon  the  field  of  battle,  and  in  the 
name  of  those  who  perished  in  the  skeleton  clutch 
of  famine  at  Andersonville  and  Libby,  whose  suf 
ferings  he  so  vividly  remembers,  Illinois — Illinois 
nominates  for  the  next  President  of  this  country 


JAMES  A.   GARFIELD. 


AND 


273 


that  prince   of   parliamentarians  —  that  leader  of 
leaders  —  James  G.  Elaine." 

The  next  day,  Friday,  came  the  balloting. 
There  were  in  all  756  votes,  and  379  were  neces 
sary  to  make  a  choice.  The  first  ballot  was 
chiefly  complimentary  in  character.  It  showed 
the  initial  strength  of  the  various  candidates,  how 
ever,  and  gave  some  indication  of  the  combi 
nations  that  might  be  made  to  secure  to  one  of 
them  a  majority  of  all  the  votes.  On  that  first 
ballot  Mr.  Blaine  easily  led  all  competitors.  He 
had  285  votes.  Morton  had  125,  Bristow 
113,  Conkling  99,  Hayes  61,  Hartranft  58,  Jewell 
n,  and  William  A.  Wheeler,  of  New  York,  3. 
The  second  ballot  differed  little  from  the  first. 
Jewell  was  withdrawn  and  his  1  1  votes  cast  for 
Blaine,  giving  him  296.  Conkling  fell  from  99  to 
93,  and  Morton  from  125  to  120.  These  votes 
went  to  swell  Hayes's  following  from  61  to  64, 
Bristow'  s  from  113  to  114,  and  Hartranft's  from 
58  to  63  ;  and  one  was  cast  for  Elihu  B.  Wrash- 
burne. 

The  third  ballot  began  amid  intense  anxiety. 
Important  changes  were  expected.  But  the  vote 
proceeded  almost  without  change,  only  wavering 
a  little,  here  and  there.  Hayes  gained  three, 
reaching  67  ;  and  Blaine  lost  three,  falling  to  293, 
to  the  deep  disappointment  of  his  friends.  Mor 
ton  lost  seven,  falling  to  113,  and  Bristow  gained 
seven,  reaching  121.  Conkling  lost  three,  falling 

16 


JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

to  90.  Hartranft  gained  five,  reaching  68  ;  and 
Wheeler  got  two  and  Washburne  one.  The  Con 
vention  seemed  no  nearer  a  choice  than  at  first. 
Mr.  Elaine  was  90  votes  away  from  the  nomina 
tion,  and  the  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  dele 
gations,  which  seemed  to  be  masters  of  the  situa 
tion,  showed  no  sign  of  abandoning  the  candidates 
for  whom  they  were  casting  merely  complimentary 
votes.  Pennsylvania  was  voting  for  General 
Hartranft,  whom  no  one  expected  to  see  chosen, 
and  all  the  New  York  delegates,  except  one, 
were  holding  out  steadily  for  Senator  Conkling, 
who  was  a  strong  and  implacable  opponent  of 
Mr.  Blainc. 

The  fourth  ballot  was  taken,  and  it  also  showed 
little  change.  Mr.  Elaine's  friends  stood  by  him 
firmly.  He  lost  one  vote  in  Alabama,  one  in 
Iowa,  one  in  Texas,  one  in  Vermont,  and  two  in 
Michigan.  Eut  elsewhere  he  gained  a  number  of 
votes,  so  that  his  net  loss  on  this  ballot  was  only 
one,  his  total  vote  standing  at  292.  It  looked  as 
if  this  deadlock  might  continue  all  day,  and  in 
deed  for  many  days.  Eut  the  opponents  of  Mr. 
Elaine  were  uneasy.  His  great  strength  in  the 
Convention,  and  the  steadfastness  of  his  support 
ers,  alarmed  them.  They  began  planning  to  form 
some  compromise  and  combination  to  defeat  him. 
Many  such  schemes  had  already  been  broached, 
but  nothing  had  yet  come  of  them.  Governor 
Hayes,  of  Ohio,  had  been  the  central  figure  of 


1876  AXD   1880.  275 

most  of  them,  and  now,  on  the  fifth  ballot,  he  was 
definitely  chosen  as  the  candidate  upon  whom  an 
attempt  would  be  made  to  unite  the  elements  hos 
tile  to  Mr.  Blaine.  It  was,  of  course,  a  delicate 
and  difficult  task  to  transfer  votes  from  one  can 
didate  to  another.  The  various  delegations  had 
come  to  the  Convention  pledged  or  instructed  to 
vote  for  such  or  such  a  candidate.  As  soon  as  it 
was  decided  to  annul  those  pledges,  the  delegates 
would  be  free  to  follow  their  own  individual  choice, 
and  it  was  not  unlikely  that  there  would  be  a  con 
siderable  stampede  in  the  direction  of  Mr.  Blaine. 
The  plan  was  executed,  however,  with  singular 
tact  and  entire  success.  The  venerable  Governor 
Howard,  of  Michigan,  was  chosen  to  lead  the 
movement.  On  the  fifth  ballot  he  hobbled  on  his 
crutches  to  the  front  of  the  hall  and  said,  in  a 
voice  tremulous  both  with  age  and  emotion,  that 
there  was  one  candidate  before  the  Convention 
who  had  already  defeated  three  Democratic  aspi 
rants  for  the  Presidency — Allen  G.  Thurman, 
George  H.  Pendleton  and  William  Allen — and 
who  seemed  to  have  a  habit  of  defeating  distin 
guished  Democrats.  It  would  be  the  part  of  wis 
dom  to  give  him  an  opportunity  once  more  to  de 
feat  whatever  candidate  the  Democrats  might  place 
in  nomination  for  the  Presidency.  Michigan, 
therefore,  cast  her  whole  22  votes  solidly  for 
Rutherford  B.  Hayes.  This  announcement,  al 
though  not  unexpected,  came  upon  the  Convention 


j A:\IKS  G.  BLAINE. 

with  the  sudden  energy  of  an  electric  shock. 
A  tremendous  tidal  wave  of  enthusiastic  applause 
swept  over  the  entire  assemblage  again  and  again. 
For  a  moment  it  looked  as  though  there  would 
be  a  general  stampede  toward  Hayes.  But  Mr. 
Elaine's  supporters  stood  firm  as  ever.  The  roll 
call  proceeded.  The  next  State,  Minnesota,  cast 
her  vote,  as  before,  for  Mr.  Blaine,  and  Missouri, 
coming  next,  gave  him  20  votes,  where  before 
she  had  only  given  him  1 8.  But  then  North  Caro 
lina  abandoned  him  and  voted  for  Hayes.  So  it 
went  on  to  the  end  of  the  fifth  ballot.  Mr.  Blaine 
was  not  yet  nominated,  but  he  was  still  the  leader 
among  the  candidates.  A  rival  was  coming  for 
ward,  however,*  at  a  dangerous  rate.  On  this 
ballot  Mr.  Blaine  had  286  votes.  Mr.  Bristow 
stood  second  with  114.  Governor  Hayes  had 
risen  to  104.  Senator  Morton  had  95,  Senator 
Conkling  82,  and  General  Hartranft  69. 

The  sixth  ballot  was  ordered.  Down  to  the 
point  where  North  Carolina  was  reached  on  the 
roll  call  there  \vas  no  material  change  from  the 
former  ballot.  But  the  Tar  Heel  State,  which 
had  deserted  Mr.  Blaine  on  the  fifth  ballot,  now 
came  back  to  him  solidly  with  12  votes,  and  a 
mighty  burst  of  cheering  rent  the  air.  Presently 
Pennsylvania  was  reached,  and  for  the  first  time 
its  delegation  was  divided.  Fourteen  of  its  votes 
were  announced  for  Mr.  Blaine,  and  there  was 
another  scene  of  great  enthusiasm  among  his 


»8?6  AND  1880.  277 

supporters.  South  Carolina  also  swung  into  line 
for  him,  and  he  now  had  308  votes.  Governor 
Hayes,  meantime,  had  gained  only  9  votes,  stand 
ing  now  at  113,  while  Bristow  had  fallen  to  in. 
Mr.  Elaine's  supporters  were  now  confident 
and  jubilant.  His  opponents  saw  that  something 
must  be  done  immediately  if  he  was  to  be  de 
feated.  For  a  space  the  Convention  became  a 
disorganized  mob,  a  dozen  men  speaking  at  once 
and  the  various  leaders  earnestly  and  desperately 
consulting  together.  Then  the  Indiana  delegation 
•marched  out  of  the  hall  for  consultation.  The 
New  York  delegation  followed,  and  then  Penn- 

o 

^ylvania  went  too.  It  was  evident  that  these 
three  great  bodies  would  decide  the  result  on  the 
next  ballot.  And  so  they  did.  The  seventh  bal 
lot  was  called.  The  names  of  Morton,  Conklino- 

«^_> 

and  Hartranft  were  withdrawn,  and  the  support 
ers  of  their  candidates  went  over  in  a  body  to 
Governor  Hayes.  The  bulk  of  Mr.  Bristow's 
supporters  also  abandoned  him,  many  of  them 
going  to  Mr.  Blaine  and  the  rest  to  Governor 
Hayes.  On  the  seventh  ballot  756  votes  were 
cast,  and  379  were  necessary  to  a  choice.  Gov 
ernor  Hayes  received  384,  Mr.  Blaine  351,  and 
Mr.  Bristow  21.  Thus  Mr.  Blaine  was  defeated 
and  Governor  Hayes  was  nominated  as  the  candi 
date  of  the  Republican  party  for  President  in  the 
centennial  year  of  the  Union.  But  Mr.  Blaine 
had  the  consolation  of  knowing  that  his  friends 


2/8  JAMES   G.  ELAINE. 

had  supported  him  with  a  fervent  loyalty  such  as 
few  candidates  had  ever  before  enjoyed. 

The  record  of  Mr.  Elaine's  activities  during  the 
four  years  that  followed  is  given  elsewhere.  As 
the  administration  of  President  Hayes  approached 
its  close  it  became  evident  that  Mr.  Elaine  would 
again  be  a  leading  candidate  for  the  Republican 
nomination.  His  popularity  in  the  party  and 
throughout  the  Nation  had  been  steadily  increas 
ing,  and  his  support  was  stronger  and  more  en 
thusiastic  than  before.  He  entered  the  Conven 
tion  of  1880,  at  Chicago,  with  almost  exactly  the 
same  number  of  supporters  that  had  striven  in 
his  behalf  so  earnestly  in  1876.  The  opposition 
to  him  was  now  more  united  and  better  organized 
than  before.  Its  leader  was  Senator  Conkling, 
and  its  candidate  was  General  Grant,  who  was 
now  put  forward  for  a  third  term  in  the  White 
House.  At  the  opening  of  the  Convention,  on 
June  2d,  there  was  a  determined  struggle  over 
what  was  known  as  the  "unit  rule."  The  oppo 
nents  of  Mr.  Elaine  contended  that  each  State's 
vote  should  be  cast  without  division  for  the  can 
didate  favored  by  the  majority  of  the  delegation. 
Mr.  .Elaine's  supporters  contended  that  the  vote 
of  a  delegation  might  be  divided  according  to  the 
individual  preferences  of  its  members.  Finally 
General  James  A.  Garfield,  of  Ohio,  was  made 
chairman  of  the  Committee  on  rules,  and  in  the 
code  which  he  reported  to  the  Convention  the 


1876  AND   1880.  2/9 

unit  rule  was  disregarded,  thus  leaving  the  dele 
gates  free  to  vote  according  to  their  individual 
preferences.  This  was  properly  regarded  as  a 
victory  for  the  Biaine  forces  and  a  defeat  for  the 
supporters  of  Grant. 

On  the  roll  call  of  States  for  nomination  of 
candidates  the  name  of  Mr.  Biaine  was  presented, 
in  behalf  of  the  State  of  Maine,  by  James  F. 
Joy,  chairman  of  the  Michigan  delegation.  Gen 
eral  Grant  was  nominated  by  Senator  Conkling, 
and  the  other  candidates  named  were  John  Sher 
man,  E.  B.  Washburne,  George  F.  Edmunds  and 
William  Wiridom. 

On  the  first  ballot  755  votes  were  cast,  and  378 
were  necessary  to  a  choice.  General  Grant  re 
ceived  304,  Mr.  Biaine  284,  John  Sherman  93,  E. 
B.  Washburne  31,  George  F.  Edmunds  34,  and 
William  Winclom  10.  Thenceforward  to  the  28th 
ballot  there  was  scarcely  any  change  in  the 
voting.  The  vote  for  Grant  varied  from  302  in 
the  25th  ballot  to  309  in  the  i5th.  The  vote  for 
Mr.  Biaine  was  equally  steady,  ranging  from  275 
in  the  22d  and  2^d  ballots  to  285  in  the  i2th  and 
1 3th.  During  the  28  ballots  John  Sherman's 
vote  ranged  from  88  to  97,  E.  B.  Washburne's 
from  31  to  36,  George  F.  Edmunds's  from  31  to 
34,  and  William  Windom's  remained  fixedly  at 
10.  On  almost  every  ballot  one  or  two  votes 
were  cast  for  James  A.  Garfield.  On  three  bal 
lots,  one  vote  was  cast  for  Benjamin  Harrison  ; 


2gO  JAM1LS   G.   11LAINE. 

on  three,  one  for  Rutherford  B.  Hayes  ;  on  one, 
one  for  George  W.  McCreary  ;  on  one,  one  for 
Edmund  T.  Davis  ;  and  on  four,  one  for  John  F. 
Hartranft.  It  was  such  a  deadlock  as  had  not 
before  been  seen  in  a  Republican  Convention. 

On  the  2Qt:h  ballot  there  was  a  slight  but  insig 
nificant  change,  the  vote  of  Mr.  Edmunds  fall 
ing  to  12  and  that  of  Mr.  Windom  to  7,  and 
that  of  Mr.  Sherman  rising  to  1 1 6.  The  votes 
for  Grant  and  Elaine  remained  as  before.  The 
3oth  ballot  was  almost  a  duplicate  of  the  29th,  but 
one  scattering  vote  was  cast  for  General  Philip  H. 
Sheridan.  The  3ist  ballot  showed  no  material 
change,  but  one  vote  was  cast  for  Roscoe  Conk- 
ling.  The  32d  ballot  showed  no  sign  of  a  break 
in  the  deadlock,  the  forces  of  the  two  great  rivals 
standing  unbroken,  and  the  minor  bodies,  with 
whom  lay  the  balance  of  power,  not  yet  indica 
ting  in  what  direction  they  would  finally  cast  their 
strength.  The  33d  ballot  showed  309  votes  for 
Grant,  276  for  Elaine,  100  for  Sherman,  44  for 
Washburne,  n  for  Edmunds,  4  for  Windom, 
and  i  for  Garfield. 

All  efforts  to  induce  the  minor  delegations  to 
forsake  their  candidates  in  favor  of  either  Grant 
or  Elaine  were  fruitless.  It  therefore  became 
evident  that  if  the  deadlock  was  ever  to  be  bro 
ken,  one  of  the  great  bodies  must  forsake  its 
candidate  and  accept  a  compromise.  This  the 
supporters  of  Grant  positively  refused  to  do. 


AND  1880.  281 

They  expressed  their  determination  of  standing 
together  and  voting  together  for  the  candidate  of 

o  o          o 

their  choice  as  long  as  the  Convention  remained 
in  existence.  The  Elaine  men  were  at  least 
equally  devoted  to  their  candidate,  but  took  a 
more  reasonable  view  of  the  situation.  When 
they  became  convinced  that  Mr.  Elaine's  nomina 
tion  was  impossible  they  began  to  look  about  for 
the  next  best  candidate. 

In  the  34th  ballot  the  first  really  significant 
break  occurred.  Washburne's  vote  fell  from  44 
to  30,  and  Garfield's  forged  ahead  from  i  to  17. 
Grant's  remained  at  312,  and  Elaine's  at  275. 
Sherman's  was  107.  Garfield  had  been  sent'  to 
the  Convention  as  the  leader  of  the  Sherman 
forces,  and  when  delegates  began  to  vote  for  him 
he  protested  that  he  was  not  a  candidate.  This 
protestation,  however,  did  not  restrain  the  dele 
gates  from  voting  for  him,  but  seemed  actually 
to  encourage  them  to  do  so.  His  reluctance  to 
receive  the  nomination  was  taken  as  a  proof  of 
his  fitness  for  it.  The  supporters  of  Mr.  Elaine 
now  decided  that  it  would  be  best,  indeed  that  it 
was  necessary,  to  abandon  their  loved  and  hon 
ored  candidate.  Accordingly,  on  the  35th  ballot, 
the  majority  of  them  did  so,  casting  their  votes 
for  Garfield,  who  thus  received  250  votes,  while 
Elaine's  fell  to  57,  Sherman's  to  99,  Washburne's 
to  23,  Edmunds's  to  1 1,  and  Windom's  103.  The 
Grant  contingent  stood  firm  as  ever,  and  even 


282  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

gamed  a  few  recruits,  casting  on  this  ballot  313 
votes  for  their  candidate.  But  the  compromise 
was  now  effected,  and  nothing  could  hinder  its 

o 

success.  The  roll  call  for  the  36th  ballot 
began.  Delegation  after  delegation  abandoned 
Sherman  and  Washburne  and  Edmunds  and  Win- 
dom,  and  joined  the  irresistible  forces  of  Garfield. 
Grant's  supporters  remained  unmoved  to  the  end, 
unwilling  to  yield  and  unable  to  attract  a  sufficient 
number  of  recruits  to  give  them  the  victory.  This 
was  the  decisive  and  final  ballot.  755  votes  were 
cast,  and  378  were  necessary  to  a  choice.  James 
A.  Garfield  received  399,  General  Grant  306,  Mr. 
Elaine  42,  Mr.  Washburne  5,  and  Mr.  Sherman  3. 
Thus  this  unexampled  contest  was  ended.  Mr. 
Elaine  was  a^ain  defeated.  Eut  he  had  once 

o 

more  received  a  most  gratifying  proof  of  the 
loyalty  of  his  friends  and  of  his  personal  popu 
larity  in  the  party,  and  he  had,  moreover,  the  sat 
isfaction  of  knowing  that  the  vote  of  his  friends 
had  decided  the  choice  of  the  Convention  in  favor 
of  one  of  his  own  most  intimate  and  trusted 
friends.  There  is  no  doubt  that  Mr.  Elaine  was 
better  pleased  with  the  nomination  of  Garfield 
than  he  would  have  been  with  the  choice  of  any 
other  candidate  beside  himself.  And  he  imme 
diately  lent  all  the  power  of  his  personal  popu 
larity  and  his  unsurpassed  genius  to  the  aid  of  the 
Garfield  campaign,  which,  in  November  following, 
was  crowned  with  success  at  the  polls. 


CHAPTER  XL 

SECRETARY    OF    STATE. 

Appointment   to  the  Chief  Portfolio  in  the  Gaifield  Cabinet Mr.  Elaine's 

Letter  of  Acceptance — Salient  Features  of  his  Foreign  Policy — Con 
troversy  with  England  ov-r  the  Neutrality  of  the  Panama  Canal 

Death  of  Garfield  and  Accession  of  President  Arthur— The  Invitation 
to  the  American  Republics  to  Hoi  I  a  Peace  Congress— Object  of 
these  Negotiations — Mr.  Elaine's  Retirement  from  Office Abandon 
ment  of  His  Plans  by  His  Successor— Mr.  Elaine's  Vindication  of  His 
Policy. 

When  Mr.  Elaine's  friend  Garfield  was  chosen 
President  in  November,  1880,  speculation  began 
to  arise  as  to  who  would  compose  his  Cabinet. 
It  was,  however,  universally  expected  that  the 
office  of  Secretary  of  State  therein  would  be  filled 
by  Mr.  Blaine.  This  was  also  Garfield's  intention. 
Very  soon  after  the  election  he  wrote  to  Mr. 
Blaine,  who  was  then  in  the  Senate,  askino-  to  see 

£> 

him  as  soon  as  possible.  They  met  on  Novem 
ber  26th,  and  Garfield  promptly  offered  Mr. 
Blaine  the  appointment  of  Secretary  of  State. 
Mr.  Blaine  asked  time  for  consideration,  and  some 
weeks  afterwards,  after  consultation  with  his 
friends,  wrote  to  the  President-elect  the  following 
letter,  accepting  the  offer  : 

"  WASHINGTON,  December  20,  iSSo. 

"  My  Dear  Garfield : — Your  generous   invitation   to  enter  your  Cabinet 
as  Secretary  of  State  has   been  under  consideration  for  more  than  three 
283 


284  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

weeks.  The  thought  had  really  never  occurred  to  my  mind  until  at  our 
late  conference  you  presented  it  with  such  cogent  arguments  in  its  favor 
and  with  such  warmth  of  personal  friendship  in  aid  of  your  kind  offer. 

"  I  know  that  an  early  answer  is  desirable,  and  I  have  waited  only  long 
enough  to  consider  the  subject  in  all  its  bearings  and  to  make  up  my  mind, 
definitely  and  conclusively.  I  now  say  to  you,  in  the  same  cordial  spirit  in 
which  you  have  invited  me,  that  I  accept  the  position. 

"  It  is  no  affectation  for  me  to  add  that  I  make  this  decision,  not  for  the 
honor  of  the  promotion  it  gives  me  in  the  public  service,  but  because  I 
think  I  can  be  useful  to  the  country  and  to  the  party ;  useful  to  you  as  the 
responsible  leader  of  the  party  and  the  great  head  of  the  Government. 

"  I  am  influenced  somewhat,  perhaps,  by  the  shower  of  letters  I  have  re 
ceived  urging  me  to  accept,  written  to  me  in  consequence  of  the  mere 
unauthorized  newspaper  report  that  you  had  been  pleased  to  offer  me  the 
place.  While  I  have  received  these  letters  from  all  sections  of  the  Union, 
I  have  been  especially  pleased  and  even  surprised  at  the  cordial  and 
widely  extended  feeling  in  my  favor  throughout  New  England,  where  I 
had  expected  to  encounter  local  jealousy  and  perhaps  rival  aspiration. 

"  In  our  new  relation  I  shall  give  all  that  I  am  and  all  that  I  can  hope 
to  be,  freely  and  joyfully,  to  your  service.  You  need  no  pledge  of  my 
loyalty  in  heart  and  in  act.  I  should  be  false  to  myself  did  I  not  prove 
true  both  to  the  great  trust  you  confide  to  me  and  to  yo  ;r  own  personal  and 
political  fortunes  in  the  present  and  in  the  future.  Your  administration 
must  be  made  brilliantly  successful  and  strong  in  the  confidence  and  pride 
of  the  people,  not  at  all  directing  its  energies  for  re-election,  and  yet 
compelling  that  result  by  the  logic  of  events  and  by  the  imperious  neces 
sities  of  the  situation. 

"  To  that  most  desirable  consummation  I  feel  that,  next  to  yourself,  I  can 
possibly  contribute  as  much  influence  as  any  other  one  man.  I  say  this  not 
from  egotism  or  vainglory,  but  merely  as  a  deduction  from  a  plain  ana'ysis 
of  the  political  forces  which  have  been  at  work  in  the  country  for  five  years 
past,  and  which  have  been  significantly  shown  in  two  great  National  Con 
ventions.  I  accept  it  as  one  of  the  happiest  circumstances  connected  with 
this  affair  that  in  allying  my  political  fortunes  with  yours — or  rather  for 
the  time  merging:  mine  in  yours — my  heart  goes  with  my  head,  and 
that  I  carry  to  you  not  only  political  support  but  personal  and  devoted 
friendship.  I  can  but  regard  it  as  somewhat  remarkable  that  two  men 
of  the  same  age,  entering  Congress  at  the  same  time,  influenced  by  the 
same  aims  and  cherishing  the  same  ambitions,  should  never,  for  a 
single  moment  in  eighteen  years  of  close  intimacy,  have  had  a  mis 
understanding  or  a  coolness,  and  that  our  friendship  has  steadily  grown 
with  our  growth  and  strengthened  with  our  strength. 


SECRETARY  OF  STATE.  285 

"  It  is  this  fact  which  has  led  me  to  the  conclusion  embodied  in 
this  letter;  for  however  much,  my  dear  Garfield,  I  might  admire  you 
as  a  statesman^  T  would  not  enter  your  Cabinet  if  I  did  not  believe  in 
you  as  a  man  and  love  you  as  a  friend. 

"  Always  faithfully  yours, 

"JAMES  G.  BLAINE." 

Mr.  Blaine  entered  upon  the  duties  of  this  im 
portant  office  immediately  after  the  inauguration 
of  the  President  in  March,  iSSi.  In  this  new 
sphere  of  duty  he  distinguished  himself  by  the 
aggressive  earnestness  with  which  he  strove  to 
uphold  and  to  promote  American  interests  every 
where.  It  was  his  aim  to  maintain  the  dignity  of 
the  American  name  and  the  honor  of  the  Ameri 
can  flag  in  every  part  of  the  globe  ;  to  give  most 
ample  protection  to  American  citizens,  wherever 
they  might  be  in  foreign  parts  ;  to  extend  the 
commercial  interests  of  the  country  as  greatly  as 
possible  ;  and  especially  to  encourage  a  closer  re 
lationship  and  greater  unity  of  interests  between 
the  various  nations  of  Central  and  South- America 
and  the  United  States.  It  was  his  aim  to  exert 
the  influence  of  the  United  States  so  as  to  put  an 
end  to  the  frequent  wars  and  revolutions  in  those 
Southern  Republics,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
establish  closer  and  more  extensive  trade  relations 
with  them.  He  believed  that  the  United  States 
should  exert  greater  commercial  and  political  in 
fluences  in  South  America  than  England  or  any 
European  power,  and  he  looked  with  disfavor 
and  distrust  upon  the  many  intrigues  and 


286  JAMES  G.  J3LAINE. 

aggressions   in    that   direction   of  which   various 
European  powers  were  guilty. 

In  connection  with  this  subject,  a  controversy 
soon  arose  with  England  over  the  neutrality  of 
the  proposed  Panama  Canal.  Acting  under  Mr. 
Elaine's  advice,  President  Garfield  reminded  the 
powers  of  Europe  that  the  United  States  had 
secured  exclusive  rights  in  the  country  through 
which  the  canal  was  to  be  constructed,  and  that 
the  proposal  of  the  European  powers  to  guarantee 
the  neutrality  of  the  work  would  not  only  be  futile 
but  actually  offensive  to  this  country.  It  was 
necessary  that  the  United  States  should  take  the 
initiative  in  any  such  guarantee.  In  his  inaugural 
address,  prepared  doubtless  after  consultation 
with  Mr.  Elaine,  President  Garfield  reasserted  the 
doctrine  of  his  predecessor,  that  it  was  the  right 
and  duty  of  the  United  States  to  maintain  such 
supervision  over  any  such  canal  as  would  effectu 
ally  protect  its  own  interests.  The  Clayton- 
Bulwer  treaty  of  1850,  between  the  United 
States  and  England,  made  certain  provisions  for 
the  control  of  the  canal  which  would  practically 
place  it  exclusively  in  England's  hand.  These 
clauses  Mr.  Elaine  now  unhesitatingly  proposed 
to  abrogate.  In  an  elaborate  letter  on  the  subject, 
to  Mr.  Lowell,  the  American  Minister  to  England, 
he  stated  the  American  side  of  the  case  with 
perfectly  unanswerable  logic,  and  showed  himself 
an  easy  master  of  the  ablest  Eritish  diplomats. 


SECKF.TARY   OF  STATE.  287 

'This  letter,"  said  Mr.  George  William  Curtis, 
in  Harper  s  Weekly, — a  critic  never  noted  for 
partiality  toward  Mr.  Elaine, — "is  a  temperate  and 
dignified  document,  stating  our  position  with 
blended  spirit  and  courtesy  and  decision.  It  is 
capitally  adapted  to  meet  any  such  proposition  as 
'  a  joint  European  protectorate,  and  it  is  another 
illustration  of  the  skill  and  ability  with  which  Mr. 
Elaine  has  managed  the  department  confided  to 
him.  He  has  what  may  be  called  the  American 
instinct,  an  essential  quality  in  our  Foreign  Secre 
tary,  yet  restrained  in  its  official  expression  by  an 
equally  American  tact  and  good  sense." 

Earnest  efforts  were  made  by  Mr.  Elaine  to 
conclude  by  an  honorable  peace  the  deplorable 
and  disastrous  war  between  Chili  and  Peru.  To 
this  end  two  special  envoys,  William  H.  Trescot 
and  Walker  Elaine,  were  sent  thither.  Eefore 
they  arrived  there,  however,  Mr.  Elaine  resigned 
his  office,  and  his  successor,  Mr.  Frelinghuysen, 
so  altered  the  policy  of  the  Department  as  to  make 
their  mission  fruitless. 

Throughout  the  brief  administration  of  Presi 
dent  Garfield,  Mr.  Elaine  was  not  only  Secretary 
of  State,  but  also  the  President's  most  trusted 
adviser  and  closest  personal  friend.  He  was  his 
companion  on  that  fatal  morning  of  July  2,  1881, 
when  the  President,  on  his  way  to  join  his  family 
at  their  summer  home,  was  shot  by  a  wretched 
madman.  Through  the  weary  months  of  illness 


288  JAMES   C.   K  I.  A  INF.. 

that  followed,  he  was  among  the  most  solicitous 
watchers  at  Garfield's  bedside  ;  and  he  was  one  of 
the  most  sincere  mourners  when,  on  September 
1 9th,  death  ended  the  illustrious  sufferer's  long 
struggle.  Chester  A.  Arthur  then  succeeded  to 
the  Presidency,  and  at  his  request,  Mr.  Elaine 
retained  for  a  time  the  State  portfolio.  Differences 
of  opinion  gradually  arose  between  them,  how 
ever,  and  on  December  19,  1881,  Mr.  Elaine 
tendered  his  resignation  and  retired  from  the 
office  he  had  filled  with  such  eminent  distinction. 
He  was  succeeded  by  the  Hon.  Frederick  L. 
Frelinghuysen,  formerly  United  States  Senator 
from  New  Jersey. 

During  his  two  months  of  service  in  President 
Arthur's  Cabinet,  Mr.  Elaine  performed  the  act 
for  which  his  first  term  as  Secretary  of  State  will 
be  most  remembered.  This  was  the  inviting  of 
all  the  nations  of  Central  and  South  America  to 
a  Peace  Congress,  to  be  held  at  Washington. 
This  was  in  accordance  with  a  plan  to  which  Mr. 
Elaine  and  President  Garfield  had  devoted  much 
thought,  and  on  which  they  had  been  fully  agreed. 
It  was  intended  to  effect  that  strengthening  of 
amicable  relations,  and  that  harmonizing  and  uni 
fication  of  interests,  both  commercial  and  political, 
which  Mr.  Elaine  so  earnestly  desired  and  which 
were,  unquestionably,  calculated  in  the  highest 
degree  to  promote  the  welfare  of  all  the  nations 
concerned.  The  following  letter,  addressed  by 


CHESTER  A.  ARTHUR. 


SECRETARY  OF  STATE.  29 1 

Mr.  Elaine  to  the  United  States  Minister  to 
Mexico,  shows  the  tone  of  the  invitation  thus  ex 
tended  to  the  various  nations  ; 

"  DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 
"  WASHINGTON,  November  29,  1881. 

"  SIR  : — The  attitude  of  the  United  States  with  regard  to  the  question  of 
general  peace  on  the  American  continent  is  well  known  through  its  persis 
tent  efforts  for  years  past  to  avert  the  evils  of  warfare,  or,  the  efforts  failing, 
to  bring  positive  conflicts  to  an  end  through  pacific  counsels,  or  the  advo 
cacy  of  impartial  arbitration.  This  attitude  has  been  consistently  main 
tained,  and  always  with  such  fairness  as  to  leave  no  room  for  the  imputing 
to  our  Government  any  motive  except  the  humane  and  disinterested  one  of 
saving  the  kindred  States  on  the  American  continent  from  the  burdens  of 
war.  The  position  of  the  United  States  as  the  leading  power  of  the  New 
World  might  well  give  to  its  Government  the  claim  to  authoritative  utterance 
for  the  purpose  of  quieting  discord  among  its  neighbor?,  with  all  of  whom 
the  most  friendly  relation  exists.  Nevertheless,  the  good  offices  of  this 
Government  are  not,  and  have  not,  at  any  time,  been  tendered  with  a  show 
of  compulsion  or  dictation,  but  only  as  exhibiting  the  solicitous  good-will 
of  a  common  friend. 

"  For  some  years  past  a  growing  disposition  has  been  manifested  by  cer 
tain  States  of  Central  and  South  America  to  refer  disputes  affecting  grave 
questions  of  international  relationship  and  boundaries  to  arbitration  rather 
than  to  the  sword.  It  has  been  on  several  such  occasions  a  source  of  pro 
found  satisfaction  to  the  Government  of  the  United  States  to  see  that  this 
country  is,  in  a  large  measure,  looked  to  by  all  the  American  powers  as 
their  friend  and  mediator. 

"  The  just  and  impartial  counsel  of  the  President  in  such  cases  has  never 
been  withheld,  and  his  efforts  have  been  rewarded  by  the  prevention  of 
sanguinary  strife,  or  angry  contentions  between  people  whom  we  regard  as 
brethren. 

"  The  existence  of  this  growing  tendency  convinces  the  President  that  the 
time  is  ripe  for  a  proposal  that  shall  enlist  the  good-will  and  active  co 
operation  of  all  the  States  of  the  Western  Hemisphere,  both  North  and 
South,  in  the  interest  of  humanity,  and  for  the  common  weal  of  nations.  He 
conceives  that  none  of  the  governments  of  America  can  be  less  alive  than 
our  own  to  the  dangers  and  horrors  of  a  State  war,  and  especially  of  war  be 
tween  kinsmen.  He  is  sure  that  none  of  the  chiefs  of  governments  on  the 
continent  can  be  less  sensitive  than  he  is  to  the  sacred  duty  of  making  every 
endeavor  to  do  away  with  the  chances  of  fratricidal  strife.  And  he  looks 
17 


JAMES  G.  3LAINE. 

with  hopeful  confidence  to  such  active  assistance  from  them  as  will  help  to 
show  the  broadness  of  our  common  humanity,  and  the  strength  of  the  ties 
which  bind  us  all  together  as  a  great  and  harmonious  system  of  American 
commonwealths. 

"  Impressed  by  these  views,  the  President  extends  to  all  the  independent 
countries  of  North  and  South  America  an  earnest  invitation  to  participate  in 
a  general  congress  to  be  held  in  the  city  of  Washington  on  the  24th  day  of 
November,  iSSi,  for  the  purpose  of  considering  and  discussing  the 
methods  of  preventing  wnr  between  the  nations  of  America.  He  desires 
that  the  attention  of  the  congress  shall  be  strictly  confined  to  this  one  great 
object,  that  its  sole  aim  shall  be  to  seek  away  of  permanently  averting  the 
horrors  of  cruel  and  bloody  combat  between  countries  oftenest  of  one  blood 
and  speech ;  or  the  even  worse  calamity  of  internal  commotion  and  civil 
strife ;  that  it  shall  regard  the  burdensome  and  far-reaching  consequences 
of  such  struggles,  the  legacies  of  exhausted  finances,  of  opprsssive  debt,  of 
onerous  taxation,  of  ruined  cities,  of  paralyzed  industries,  of  devastated 
fields,  of  ruthless  conscription,  of  the  slaughter  of  men,  of  the  grief  of  the 
widow  and  orphan,  of  embittered  resentments  that  long  survive  those  who 
provoked  them,  and  heavily  afflict  the  innocent  generations  that  come  after. 

"  The  President  is  especially  desirous  to  have  it  understood  that  in  put 
ting  forth  this  invitation,  the  United  States  does  not  assume  the  position  of 
counselling,  or  attempting  through  the  voice  of  the  congress  to  counsel,  any 
determinate  solution  of  existing  questions  which  may  now  divide  any  of  the 
countries  of  America.  Such  questions  cannot  properly  come  before  the 
congress.  Its  mission  is  higher.  It  is  to  provide  for  the  interest  of  all  in 
the  future,  not  to  settle  the  individual  differences  of  the  present.  For  this 
reason  especially,  the  President  has  indicated  a  day  for  the  assembling  of 
the  congress  so  far  in  the  future  as  to  leave  good  ground  for  hope,  that  by 
the  time  named,  the  present  situation  on  the  South  Pacific  coast  will  be 
happily  terminated,  and  that  those  engaged  in  the  contest  may  take  peace 
able  part  in  the  discussion  and  solution  of  the  general  question  affecting  in 
an  equal  degree  the  well-being  of  all. 

"  It  seems  also  desirable  to  disclaim,  in  advance,  any  purpose  on  the  part 
of  the  United  States  to  prejudge  the  issues  to  be  presented  to  the  congress. 
It  is  far  from  the  intent  of  this  Government  to  appear  before  the  congress 
as  in  any  sense  the  protector  of  its  neighbors,  or  the  predestined  and  neces 
sary  arbitrator  of  their  disputes.  The  United  States  will  enter  into  the 
deliberations  of  the  congress  on  the  same  footing  with  the  other  powers 
represented,  and  with  the  loyal  determination  to  approach  any  proposed 
solution  not  only  in  its  own  interest,  but  as  a  single  member  among  many 
co-ordit  ate  and  co-equal  States,  so  far  as  the  influence  of  this  Government 
may  be  conciliating,  whatever  conflicting  interests  of  blood  or  government 


SECRETARY  OF  STATE.  293 

or  historical  tradition  may  necessarily  come  together  in  response  to  a  call 
embracing  such  vast  and  diverse  elements. 

"  You  will  present  these  views  to  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Relations  of 
Mexico,  enlarging,  if  need  be,  in  such  terms  as  will  readily  occur  to  you, 
upon  the  great  mission  which  it  is  in  the  power  of  the  proposed  congress  to 
accomplish  in  the  interest  of  humanity,  and  upon  the  firm  purpose  of  the 
United  States  to  maintain  a  position  of  the  most  absolute  and  impartial 
friendship  toward  all.  You  will  thereupon  tender  to  his  Excellency,  the 
President  of  the  Mexican  Republic,  a  formal  invitation  to  send  two  commis 
sioners  to  the  congress,  provided  with  such  powers  and  instructions  on 
behalf  of  their  government  as  will  enable  them  to  consider  the  questions 
brought  before  that  body  within  the  limit  of  submission  contemplated  by  the 
invitation. 

"  The  United  States,  as  well  as  the  other  powers,  will  in  like  manner  be 
represented  by  two  commissioners,  so  that  impartiality  and  equality  will  be 
amply  secured  in  the  proceedings  of  the  congress. 

"In  delivering  this  invitation  through  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs, 
you  will  read  this  despatch  to  him,  and  leave  with  him  a  copy,  intimating 
that  an  answer  is  desired  by  this  Government  as  promptly  as  the  just  con 
sideration  of  so  important  a  proposition  will  permit. 

"  I  am,  Sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

"JAMES  G.  ELAINE." 

Three  weeks  after  the  issuing  of  this  letter  Mr. 
Blaine  was  succeeded  in  the  State  Department 
by  Mr.  Frelinghuysen.  The  latter  ,very  materi 
ally  changed  the  Government's  foreign  policy, 
and,  for  one  thing, -annulled  the  arrangements  for 
the  Peace  Congress,  and  revoked  the  invitations, 
so  that  that  body  did  not  convene.  At  this  the 
people  of  the  United  States  very  generally  felt 
much  regret.  Mr.  Blaine  regretted  it  also,  on 
public  grounds,  and  he  naturally  regarded  it  as  a 
personal  grievance,  especially  since  his  political 
enemies  quickly  and  industriously  spread  abroad 
all  sorts  of  false  and  malicious  rumors  regarding 


294  JAMES   G.  ELAINE. 

his  object  in  summoning  the  congress.  He  was 
charged  with  a  "jingo"  policy;  with  seeking  to 
bully  the  weaker  American  powers,  and  even  to 
compel  their  annexation  to  the  United  States ; 
with  trying  to  embroil  the  United  States  in  a 
foreign  war  ;  and  actually  with  corrupt  motives  of 
personal  gain.  The  baser  of  these  calumnies 
Mr.  Elaine  could  afford  to  treat  with  contempt. 
But  on  the  higher  grounds  of  public  policy  he 
felt  presently  constrained  to  vindicate  his  course 
by  addressing  to  President  Arthur,  on  January  3, 
1882,  the  following  letter: 

"  To  the  President  of  the  United  States  : — The  suggestion  of  a  congress 
of  all  American  Nations  to  assemble  in  the  city  of  Washington  for  the  pur 
pose  of  agreeing  on  such  a  basis  of  arbitration  for  international  troubles  as 
would  remove  all  possibiliiy  of  war  on  the  Western  Hemisphere  was 
warmly  approved  by  your  predecessor.  His  assassination  July  2d  pre 
vented  his  issuing  the  invitation  to  the  American  States.  After  your  acces 
sion  to  the  Presidency  I  acquainted  you  with  the  project,  and  submitted  to 
you  that  draft  for  such  an  invitation.  You  received  the  suggestion  with 
most  appreciative  consideration,  and,  after  carefully  examining  the  form  of 
invitation,  directed  it  to  be  sent.  It  was  accordingly  despatched  in  No 
vember  to  the  independent  Governments  of  America,  North  and  South, 
including  all,  from  the  Empire  of  Brazil  to  the  smallest  Republic.  In  a 
communication  addressed  by  the  present  Secretary  of  State,  the  ninth  of 
last  month,  to  Mr.  Trescot,  and  recently  sent  to  the  Senate,  I  was 
greatly  surprised  to  find  a  proposition  looking  to  the  annulment  of  these 
invitations,  and  I  was  still  more  surprised  when  I  read  the  reasons 
assigned.  I  quote  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  language :  '  The  United  States  is 
at  peace  with  all  nations  of  the  earth,  and  the  President  wishes  here 
after  to  determine  whether  it  will  conduce  to  the  general  peace,  which 
he  would  cherish  and  promote,  for  this  Government  to  enter  into  negoti 
ations  and  consultation  for  the  promotion  of  peace  with  selected  friendly 
nationalities  without  extending  the  line  of  confidence  to  other  people 
with  whom  the  United  States  is  on  equally  friendly  terms.  If  such  par 
tial  confidence  would  create  jealousy  and  ill-will,  peace,  the  object  sought 


SECRETARY  OF  STATE.  2$$ 

by  such  consultation,  would  not  be  promoted.  The  principles  controlling 
the  relations  of  the  Republics  of  this  hemisphere  with  other  nationalities 
may,  on  investigation,  be  found  to  be  so  well  established  that  little  would 
be  gained  at  this  time  by  reopening  the  subject,  which  is  not  novel.'  If 
I  correctly  apprehend  the  meaning  of  these  words,  it  is  that  we  might 
offend  some  European  powers  if  we  should  hold  in  the  United  States  a 
Congress  of  '  selected  nationalities '  of  American. 

"  This  is  certainly  a  new  position  for  the  United  States  to  assume,  and 
one  which  I  earnestly  beg  you  will  not  permit  this  Government  to  occupy. 
European  powers  assemble  in  congress  whenever  an  object  seems  to  them 
of  sufficient  importance  to  justify  it.  I  have  never  heard  of  their  consulting 
the  Government  of  the  United  States  in  regard  to  the  propriety  of  their  so 
assembling,  nor  have  I  ever  known  their  inviting  an  American  representa 
tive  to  be  present,  nor  would  there,  in  my  judgment,  be  any  good  reason 
for  their  so  doing.  Two  Presidents  of  the  United  States  in  the  year  1881 
adjudge  it  to  be  expedient  that  American  powers  should  meet  in  congress 
for  the  sole  purpose  of  agreeing  upon  some  basis  for  arbitration  of  differ 
ences  that  may  arise  between  them,  and  for  the  prevention,  as  far  as  possible, 
of  wars  in  the  future.  If  that  movement  is  now  to  be  arrested  for  fear  it 
may  give  offence  in  Europe,  the  voluntary  humiliation  of  this  Government 
could  not  be  more  complete,  unless  we  should  petition  European  Govern 
ments  for  the  privilege  of  holding  the  congress. 

"  I  cannot  conceive  how  the  United  States  could  be  placed  in  a  less 
enviable  position  than  would  be  secured  by  sending  in  November  a  cordial 
invitation  to  all  American  Governments  to  meet  in  Washington  for  the  sole 
purpose  of  concocting  measures  of  peace,  and  in  January  recalling  the 
invitation  for  fear  it  might  create  'jealousy  and  ill-will'  on  the  part  of 
monarchical  Governments  in  Europe.  It  would  be  difficult  to  devise  a  more 
effective  mode  of  making  enemies  of  the  American  Governments,  and  k 
would  certainly  not  add  to  our  prestige  in  the  European  world.  Nor  can  I 
see,  Mr.  President,  how  European  Governments  should  feel  '  jealousy  and 
ill-will '  toward  the  United  States  because  of  an  effort  on  its  part  to  assure 
lasting  peace  between  the  nations  of  America,  unless  indeed  it  be  the 
interest  of  the  European  powers  that  the  American  nations  should  at  inter 
vals  fall  into  war,  and  bring  reproach  on  Republican  government.  But 
from  that  very  circumstance  I  see  an  additional  and  powerful  motive  for 
American  Governments  to  be  at  peace  among  themselves.  The  United 
States  is  indeed  at  peace  with  all  the  world,  as  Mr.  Frelinghuysen  well 
says ;  but  there  are,  and  have  been,  serious  troubles  between  other  Amer 
ican  Republics.  Peru,  Chili  and  Bolivia  have  been  for  more  than  two  years 
engaged  in  a  desperate  conflict.  It  was  the  fortunate  intervention  of  the 
United  States  last  spring  that  averted  war  between  Chili  and  the  Argentine 


296  JAMES  G.  RLATNE. 

Republic.  Guatemala  is  at  this  moment  asking  the  United  States  to  inter 
pose  its  good  offices  with  Mexico  to  keep  off  war. 

"  These  important  facts  were  all  communicated  in  your  late  message 
to  Congress.  It  is  the  existence  or  menace  of  these  wars  that  influenced 
President  Garfield,  and,  as  I  suppose,  influenced  yourself,  to  desire  a 
friendly  conference  of  all  nations  of  America  to  devise  methods  of  perma 
nent  peace  and  consequent  prosperity  for  all.  Shall  the  United  States  now 
turn  back,  hold  aloof,  and  refuse  to  exert  its  great  moral  power  for  the 
advantage  of  its  weaker  neighbors  ?  If  you  have  not  formally  and  fully 
recalled  the  invitation  to  a  Peace  Congress,  Mr.  President,  I  beg  you  to 
consider  well  the  effect  of  so  doing.  The  invitation  was  not  mine.  It  was 
yours.  I  performed  only  the  part  of  Secretary  to  advise  and  draft.  You 
spoke  in  the  name  of  the  United  States  to  each  of  the  independent  nations 
of  America.  To  revoke  that  invitation  for  a:iy  cause  would  be  embarras 
sing;  to  revoke  it  for  avowed  fear  of 'jealousy  and  ill-will'  on  the  part  of 
European  powers  would  appeal  as  little  to  American  pride  as  to  American 
hospitality.  Those  you  have  invited  may  decline,  and,  having  now  cause 
to  doubt  their  welcome,  will  perhaps  do  so.  This  would  break  up  the  con 
gress,  but  it  would  not  touch  our  dignity.  Beyond  the  philanthropic  and 
Christian  ends  to  be  obtained  by  the  American  conference,  devoted  to 
peace  and  good-will  among  men,  we  might  well  hope  for  material  advant 
ages  as  a  result  of  a  better  understanding  and  closer  friendship  with  the 
nations  of  America.  At  present  the  condition  of  trade  between  the  United 
States  and  its  American  neighbors  is  unsatisfactory  to  us,  and  even  de 
plorable. 

"  According  to  the  official  statistics  of  our  own  Treasury  Department  the 
balance  against  us  in  that  trade  last  year  was  $120,000,000 — a  sum  greater 
than  the  yearly  product  of  the  gold  and  silver  mines  in  the  United  States. 
This  vast  balance  was  paid  by  us  in  foreign  exchange,  and  a  very  large 
proportion  of  it  went  to  England,  where  shipments  of  cotton,  provisions,  and 
breadstuffs  supplied  the  money.  If  anything  should  change  or  check  the 
balance  in  our  favor  in  European  trade,  our  commercial  exchanges  with 
Spanish  America  would  drain  us  of  our  reserve  of  gold  coin  at  a  rate  ex 
ceeding  $100,000,000  per  annum,  and  would  probably  precipitate  the 
suspension  of  specie-payment  in  this  country.  Such  a  result  at  home  might 
be  worse  than  a  little  'jealousy  and  ill-will'  abroad;  I  do  not  say,  Mr. 
President,  that  the  holding  of  a  Peace  Congress  will  necessarily  change  the 
currents  of  trade,  but  it  will  bring  us  into  kindly  relations  with  all  the 
American  nations;  it  will  promote  the  reign  of  peace,  and  law,  and  order ;  it 
will  increase  production  and  consumption  and  will  stimulate  the  demand 
for  articles  which  American  manufacturers  can  furnish  with  profit.  It  will, 
at  all  events,  he  a  friendly  and  auspicious  beginning  in  the  direction  of 


SECRE TAR  Y  OF  STA  TE.  29? 

American  influence  and  American  trade  in  a  large  field  which  we  have 
hitherto  greatly  neglected,  and  which  has  been  practically  monopolized  by 
our  commercial  rivals  in  Europe.  As  Mr.  Frelinghuysen's  despatch 
foreshadowing  an  abandonment  of  a  Peace  Congress  is  being  made  public  by 
your  direction,  I  deem  it  a  matter  of  propriety  and  justice  to  gire  this  letter 
to  the  press.  I  am,  Mr.  President,  with  great  respect,  your  ever  obedient 
servant, 

"  JAMES  G.  ELAINE." 

The  ex-Secretary  thus  set  himself  entirely 
right  in  the  minds  of  all  thoughtful  and  impartial 
observers,  and  brought  not  a  little  reproach  and 
ridicule  upon  those  who  had  frustrated  his  benefi 
cent  designs.  Frustrated  his  designs  were, 
however,  for  the  time  ;  and  the  pursuance  of  his 
policy  was  postponed  until  a  later  date. 

To  complete  the  record  of  Mr.  Elaine's  first 
Administration  of  the  State  Department,  one 
more  incident  must  be  mentioned,  not  otherwise 
significant.  Taking  advantage  of  the  extremities 
to  which  Peru  was  driven  in  her  unequal  struggle 
against  the  aggressive  Chilians,  certain  specu 
lators  sought  to  press  against  her  various  claims 
for  enormous  sums,  based  upon  the  value  of  the 
discovery  of  the  nitrate  and  guano  deposits  in  that 
country.  As  these  speculators,  or  some  of  them, 
were  American  citizens,  they  sought  to  urge  their 
demands  through  the  medium  of  the  State  De 
partment.  Their  attorney  was  a  person  named 
Shipherd,  who  began  to  treat  the  United  States 
Government  as  though  it  were  his  partner  in  the 
business.  So  offensive  was  his  tone  that  Mr. 
Elaine  was  prompted,  most  properly,  to  disbar 


398  JAMES  G.   ELAINE. 

him  from  further  practice  before  the  State  Depart 
ment.  This  made  Shipherd  angry,  and  he 
demanded  of  Congress  an  "  investigation,"  mak 
ing  various  charges  of  corruption  against  Mr. 
Elaine.  The  investigation  was  held,  and  Mr. 
Elaine's  enemies  tried  hard  to  discredit  him,  but 
only  succeeded  in  bringing  ridicule  upon  them 
selves.  Mr.  Elaine  was  amply  vindicated,  and 
Shipherd  dropped  into  obscurity  and  contempt. 
Quotation  of  one  more  document  wall  close  this 
brief  consideration  of  one  of  the  most  interesting 
periods  in  the  diplomatic  history  of  the  United 
States.  It  is  a  review  of  the  foreign  policy  of  the 
Garfield  Administration,  written  by  the  man  who 
inspired  and  directed  that  policy.  It  is  taken  from 
the  pages  of  a  Chicago  journal,  in  which  it  first 
appeared  : 

"  AUGUSTA,  MAINE,  Sept.  i,  1882. 

"  The  foreign  policy  of  President  Garfield's  Ad 
ministration  had  two  principal  objects  in  view : 
First,  to  bring  about  peace,  and  prevent  future 
wrars  in  North  and  South  America  ;  second,  to 
cultivate  such  friendly  commercial  relations  with 
all  American  countries  as  would  lead  to  a  large 
increase  in  the  export  trade  of  the  United  States, 
by  supplying  those  fabrics  in  which  we  are  abun 
dantly  able  to  compete  with  the  manufacturing 
nations  of  Europe. 

"To  attain  the  second  object  the  first  must  be 
accomplished.  It  would  be  idle  to  attempt  the 


SECRE  TA  R  V  OF  S  TA  7  7<;.  299 

development  and  enlargement  of  our  trade  with 
the  countries  of  North  and  South  America  if  that 
trade  were  liable  at  any  unforeseen  moment  to  be 
violently  interrupted  by  such  wars  as  that  which 
for  three  years  has  engrossed  and  almost  en 
gulfed  Chili,  Peru  and  Bolivia  ;  as  that  which  was 
barely  averted  by  the  friendly  offices  of  the  United 
States  between  Chili  and  the  Argentine  Republic  ; 
as  that  which  has  been  postponed  by  the  same 
good  offices,  but  not  decisively  abandoned,  be 
tween  Mexico  and  Guatemala ;  as  that  which  is 
threatened  between  Brazil  and  Uruguay ;  as  that 
which  is  even  now  foreshadowed  between  Brazil 
and  the  Argentine  States.  Peace  is  essential  to 
commerce,  is  the  very  life  of  honest  trade,  is  the 
solid  basis  of  international  prosperity  ;  and  yet 
there  is  no  part  of  the  world  where  a  resort  to 
arms  is  so  prompt  as  in  the  Spanish  American 
Republics.  Those  Republics  have  grown  out  of 
the  old  Colonial  divisions,  formed  from  capricious 
grants  to  favorites  by  Royal  charter,  and  their 
boundaries  are  in  many  cases  not  clearly  defined, 
and  consequently  afford  the  basis  of  continual 
disputes,  breaking  forth  too  often  in  open  war. 
To  induce  the  Spanish  American  States  to  adopt 
some  peaceful  mode  of  adjusting  their  frequently 
recurring  contentions  was  regarded  by  the  late 
President  as  one  of  the  most  honorable  and  useful 
ends  to  which  the  diplomacy  of  the  United  States 
could  contribute — useful  especially  to  those  States 


300  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

by  securing  permanent  peace  within  all  their  bor 
ders,  and  useful  to  our  own  country  by  affording 
a  coveted  opportunity  for  extending  its  commerce 
and  securing  enlarged  fields  for  our  products  and 
manufactures. 

"  Instead  of  friendly  intervention  here  and  there, 
patching  up  a  treaty  between  two  countries  to 
day,  securing  a  truce  between  two  others  to-mor 
row,  it  was  apparent  to  the  President  that  a  more 
comprehensive  plan  should  be  adopted  if  war  was 
to  cease  in  the  Western  Hemisphere.  It  was 
evident  that  certain  European  powers  had  in  the 
past  been  interested  in  promoting  strife  between 
the  Spanish  American  countries,  and  might  be  so 
interested  in  the  future,  while  the  interest  of  the 
United  States  was  wholly  and  always  on  the  side 
of  peace  with  all  our  American  neighbors,  and 
peace  between  them  all. 

"It  was  therefore  the  President's  belief  that 
mere  incidental  and  partial  adjustments  failed  to 
attain  the  desired  end,  and  that  a  common  agree 
ment  of  peace,  permanent  in  its  character  and 
continental  in  its  extent,  should,  if  possible,  be 
secured.  To  effect  this  end  it  had  been  resolved, 
before  the  fatal  shot  of  July  2d,  to  invite  all  the  in 
dependent  governments  of  North  and  South 
America  to  meet  in  a  Peace  Congress  at  Wash 
ington.  The  date  to  be  assigned  was  the  1 5th  of 
March,  1882,  and  the  invitations  would  have  been 
issued  directly  after  the  New  England  tour,  which 


SEC  RE  TARY  OF  STATE.  30 1 

the  President  was  not  permitted  to  make.  Nearly 
six  months  later,  on  November  22d,  President  Gar- 
field's  successor  issued  the  invitations  for  the 
Peace  Congress  in  the  same  spirit  and  scope  and 
with  the  same  limitations  and  restrictions  that  had 
been  originally  designed. 

"As  soon  as  the  project  was  understood  in 
South  America  it  received  a  most  cordial  appro 
val,  and  some  of  the  countries,  not  following  the 
leisurely  routine  of  diplomatic  correspondence, 
made  haste  to  accept  the  invitation.  There  can 
be  no  doubt  that  within  a  brief  period  all  the  na 
tions  invited  would  have  formally  signified  th^ir 
readiness  to  attend  the  congress  ;  but  in  six  weeks 
after  the  invitations  had  gone  to  the  several  coun 
tries,  President  Arthur  caused  them  to  be  re 
called,  or  at  least  suspended.  The  subject  v~as 
afterward  referred  to  Congress  in  a  special  mes 
sage,  in  which  the  President  ably  vindicated  his 
Constitutional  right  to  assemble  the  Peace  I  Con 
gress,  but  expressed  a  desire  that  the  legislative 
department  of  the  Government  should  give  an 
opinion  upon  the  expediency  of  the  step  before 
the  congress  should  be  allowed  to  convene. 
Meanwhile  the  nations  that  .received  the  invita 
tions  were  in  an  embarrassing  situation  ;  for  aff  er 
they  were  asked  by  the  President  to  come,  th^y 
found  that  the  matter  had  been  reconsidered  and 
referred  to  another  department  of  the  Gove*"n- 
ment.  This  change  was  universally  accepted  as 


3O2  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

a  practical  though  indirect  abandonment  of  the 
project,  for  it  was  not  from  the  first  probable  that 
Congress  would  take  any  action  whatever  upon 
the  subject.  The  good-will  and  welcome  of  the 
invitation  would  be  destroyed  by  a  long  debate 
in  the  Senate  and  House,  in  which  the  question 
would  necessarily  become  intermixed  with  per 
sonal  and  party  politics,  and  the  project  would 
be  ultimately  wrecked  from  the  same  cause 
and  by  the  same  process  that  destroyed  the  use 
fulness  of  the  Panama  Congress,  more  than  fifty 
years  ago,  when  Mr.  Clay  was  Secretary  of  State. 
The  time  for  Congressional  action  would  have 
been  after  the  Peace  Conference  had  closed  its 
labors.  The  conference  could  not  agree  upon 
anything  that  would  be  binding  upon  the  United 
States,  unless  assented  to  as  a  treaty  by  the  Sen 
ate,  or  enacted  into  a  law  by  both  branches.  The 
assembling  of  the  Peace  Conference,  as  President 
Arthur  so  well  demonstrated,  was  not  in  deroga 
tion  of  any  right  or  prerogative  of  the  Senate  or 
House.  The  money  necessary  for  the  expenses 
of  the  conference — which  would  not  have  ex 
ceeded  $10,000 — could  not,  with  reason  or  pro 
priety,  have  been  refused  by  Congress.  If  it  had 
been  refused,  patriotism  and  philanthropy  would 
have  promptly  supplied  it. 

"The  Spanish-American  States  are  in  special 
need  of  the  help  which  the  Peace  Congress  would 
afford  them.  They  require  external  pressure  to 


SECRE  TAR  Y  OF  STA  TE,  303 

keep  them  from  war.  When  at  war  they  require 
external  pressure  to  bring  them  to  peace.  Their 
outbreaks,  are  not  only  frequent,  but  are  sangui 
nary  and  sometimes  cruel.  The  inhabitants  of 
those  countries  are  a  brave  people,  belonging  to 
a  race  that  has  always  been  brave,  descended  of 
men  that  have  always  been  proud.  They  are  of 
hot  temper,  quick  to  take  affront,  ready  to  avenge 
a  wrong,  whether  real  or  fancied.  They  are  at 
the  same  time  generous  and  chivalrous,  and  though 
tending  for  years  past  to  estrangement  and  aliena 
tion  from  us,  they  would  promptly  respond  to  any 
advance  made  by  the  Great  Republic  of  the 
North,  as  they  have  for  two  generations  termed 
our  Government.  The  moral  influence  upon  the 
Spanish-American  people  of  such  an  international 
assembly  as  the  Peace  Congress,  called  by  the 
invitation  and  meeting  under  the  auspices  of  the 
United  States,  would  have  proved  beneficent  and 
far-reaching.  It  would  have  raised  the  standard 
of  their  civilization.  It  would  have  turned  their 
Attention  to  the  things  of  peace  ;  and  the  conti 
nent,  whose  undeveloped  wealth  amazed  Hum- 
boldt,  might  have  had  a  new  life  given  to  it,  a 
new  and  splendid  career  opened  to  its  inhabitants. 
"Such  friendly  interventions  as  the  proposed 
Peace  Congress,  and  as  the  attempt  to  restore 
peace  between  Chili  and  Peru,  fall  within  the  line 
of  both  duty  and  interest  on  the  part  of  the  United 
States.  Nations,  like  individuals,  often  require 


304  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

the  aid  of  a  common  friend  to  restore  relations  of 
amity.  Peru  and  Chili  are  in  deplorable  need  of 
a  wise  and  powerful  mediator.  Though  exhausted 
by  war,  they  are  unable  to  make  peace,  and,  un 
less  they  shall  be  aided  by  the  intervention  of  a 
friend,  political  anarchy  and  social  disorder  will 
come  to  the  conquered,  and  evijs  scarcely  less 
serious  to  the  conqueror.  Our  own  Government 
cannot  take  the  ground  that  it  will  not  offer 
friendly  intervention  to  settle  troubles  between 
American  countries,  unless  at  the  same  time  k 
freely  concedes  to  European  governments  the 
right  of  such  intervention,  and  thus  consents  to  a 
practical  destruction  of  the  Monroe  doctrine  and 
an  unlimited  increase  of  European  and  monarch 
ical  influence  on  this  continent.  The  late  special 
envoy  to  Peru  and  Chili,  Mr.  Trescot,  gives  it  as 
his  deliberate  and  published  collusion  that  if  the 
instructions  under  which  he  set  out  upon  his  mis 
sion  had  not  been  revoked,  peace  between  those 
angry  belligerents  would  have  been  established  as 
the  result  of  his  labors — necessarily  to  the  great 
benefit  of  the  United  States.  If  our  Government 
does  not  resume  its  efforts  to  secure  peace  in 
South  America,  some  European  government  will 
be  forced  to  perform  that  friendly  office.  The 
United  States  cannot  play  between  nations  the 
part  of  the  dog  in  the  manger.  We  must  perform 
the  duty  of  humane  intervention  ourselves,  or 
give  way  to  foreign  governments  that  are 


SE( 'RETAR  Y  OF  STA TE.  305 

willing-  to  accept  the  responsibility  of  the  great 
trust  and  secure  the  enhanced  influence  and  num 
berless  advantages  resulting  from  such  a  philan 
thropic  and  beneficent  course. 

"A  most  significant  and  important  result  would 
have  followed  the  assembling  of  the  Peace  Con 
gress.  A  friendship  and  an  intimacy  would  have 
been  established  between  the  States  of  North  and 
South  America,  which  would  have  demanded  and 
enforced  a  closer  commercial  connection.  A 
movement  in  the  near  future,  as  the  legitimate 
outgrowth  of  assured  peace,  would,  in  all  proba 
bility,  have  been  a  great  commercial  conference  at 
the  city  of  Mexico  or  Rio  Janeiro,  whose  delibera 
tions  would  be  directed  to  a  better  system  of  trade 
on  the  two  continents.  To  such  a  conference  the 
Dominion  of  Canada  could  properly  be  asked 
to  send  representatives,  as  that  government  is 
allowed  by  Great  Britain  a  very  large  liberty  in 
regulating  its  commercial  relations.  In  the  Peace 
Congress,  to  be  composed  of  independent  gov 
ernments,  the  Dominion  could  not  have  taken  any 
part,  and  was  consequently  not  invited.  From 
this  trade  conference  of  the  two  continents,  the 
United  States  could  hardly  have  failed  to  gain 
great  advantages.  At  present  the  commercial 
relations  of  this  country  with  the  Spanish-American 
countries,  both  continental  and  insular,  are  un 
satisfactory  and  unprofitable — indeed,  those  rela 
tions  are  absolutely  oppressive  to  the  financial 


306  JAMES   G,   BLAINE. 

interests  of  the  Government  and  people  of  the 
United  States.  In  our  current  exchanges,  it  re 
quires  about  $i 20, 000,000  to  pay  the  balance 
which  Spanish  America  brings  against  us  every 
year.  This  amount  is  50  per  cent,  more  than  the 
average  annual  product  of  the  gold  and  silver 
mines  of  the  United  States  during  the  past  five 
years.  This  vast  sum  does  not  of  course  go  to 
Spanish  America  in  coin,  but  it  goes  across  the 
ocean  in  coin  or  its  equivalent  to  pay  European 
countries  for  manufactured  articles  which  they  fur 
nish  to  Spanish  America — a  large  proportion  of 
which  should  be  furnished  by  the  manufacturers 
of  the  United  States. 

"  At  this  point  of  the  argument  the  free  trader 
appears  and  declares  that  our  protective  tariff  de 
stroys  our  power  of  competition  with  European 
countries,  and  that  if  we  will  abolish  protection  we 
shall  soon  have  South  American  trade.  The 
answer  is  not  sufficient,  for  to-day  there  are  many 
articles  which  we  can  send  to  South  America  and 
sell  as  cheaply  as  European  manufacturers  can 
furnish  them.  It  is  idle,  of  course,  to  make  this 
statement  to  the  genuine  apostle  of  free  trade 
and  the  implacable  enemy  of  protection,  for  the 
great  postulate  of  his  argument,  the  foundation  of 
his  creed,  is  that  nothing  can  be  made  as  cheaply 
in  A.merica  as  in  Europe.  Nevertheless,  facts  are 
stubborn  and  the  hard  figures  of  arithmetic  can 
not  be  satisfactorily  answered  by  airy  figures  of 


'=  *- 


febff 


SECRE TAR  Y  OF  STA  TK.  309 

speech.  The  truth  remains  that  the  coarser  de 
scriptions  of  cottons  and  cotton  prints,  boots  and 
shoes,  ordinary  household  furniture,  harness  for 
draft  animals,  agricultural  implements  of  all  kinds, 
doors,  sashes  and  blinds,  locks,  bolts  and  hinges, 
silverware,  plated-ware,  wooden-ware,  ordinary 
paper  and  paper  hangings,  common  vehicles,  or 
dinary  window-glass  and  glassware,  rubber  goods, 
coal  oils,  lard  oils,  kerosene,  white  lead,  lead  pipe, 
and  articles  in  which  lead  is  a  chief  component, 
can  be  and  are  produced  as  cheaply  in  the  United. 
States  as  in  any  other  part  of  the  world.  The 
list  of  such  articles  might  be  lengthened  by  the 
addition  of  those  classed  as  "  notions,"  but 
enough  only  are  given  to  show  that  this  country 
would,  with  proper  commercial  arrangements,  ex 
port  much  more  largely  than  it  now  does  to 
Spanish  America. 

"  In  the  trade  relations  of  the  world  it  does  not 
follow  that  mere  ability  to  produce  as  cheaply  as 
another  nation  insures  a  division  of  an  established' 
market,  or,  indeed,  any  participation  in  it.  France 
manufactures  many  articles  as  cheaply  as  England 
— some  articles  at  even  less  cost.  Portugal  lies 
nearer  to  France  than  to  England,  and  the  ex 
pense  of  transporting  the  French  fabric  to  the 
Portuguese  market  is  therefore  less  than  the 
transportation  of  English  fabric.  And  yet  Great 
Britain  has  almost  a  monopoly  in  the  trade  of 

Portugal.     The  same  condition  applies,  though  in 
18 


310  JAMES   G.    BLAJXJ-:. 

a  less  degree,  in  the  trade  of  Turkey,  Syria  and 
Egypt,  which  England  holds  to  a  much  greater 
extent  than  any  of  the  other  European  nations 
that  are  able  to  produce  the  same  fabric  as 
cheaply.  If  it  be  said  in  answer  that  England  has 
special  trade  relations  by  treaty  with  Portugal 
and  special  obligations  binding  the  other  countries, 
the  ready  answer  is  that  she  has  no  more  favor 
able  position  with  regard  to  those  countries  than 
can  be  readily  and  easily  acquired  by  the  United 
States  with  respect  to  all  the  countries  of  America. 
That  end  will  be  reached  whenever  the  United 
States  desires  it,  and  wills  it,  and  is  ready  to  take 
the  steps  necessary  to  secure  it.  At  present  the 
trade  with  Spanish  America  runs  so  strongly  in 
channels  adverse  to  us,  that,  besides  our  inability 
to  furnish  manufactured  articles,  we  do  not  get 
the  profit  on  our  own  raw  products  that  are  shipped 
there.  Our  petroleum  reaches  most  of  the  Span 
ish-American  ports  after  twice  crossing  the 
Atlantic,  paying  often  a  better  profit  to  the 
European  middle-man,  who  handles  it,  than  it 
does  to  the  producer  of  the  oil  in  the  northwestern 
counties  of  Pennsylvania.  Flour  and  pork  from 
the  West  reach  Cuba  by  way  of  Spain,  and  though 
we  buy  and  consume  ninety  per  cent,  of  the  total 
products  of  Cuba,  almost  that  proportion  of 
her  purchases  are  made  in  Europe — made,  of 
course,  with  money  furnished  directly  from  our 
pockets. 


SECRETARY  OF  STATE.  311 

"  As  our  exports  to  Spanish  America  grow  less, 
as  European  imports  constantly  grow  larger,  the 
balance  against  us  will  show  an  annual  increase, 

o 

and  will  continue  to  exhaust  our  supply  of  the 
precious  metals.  We  are  increasing  our  imports 
from  South  America,  and  the  millions  we  annually 
pay  for  coffee,  wool,  hides,  guano,  cinchona, 
caoutchouc,  cabinet  woods,  dye  woods  and  other 
articles,  go  for  the  ultimate  benefit  of  European 
manufacturers  who  take  the  gold  from  us  and 
send  their  fabrics  to  Spanish  America.  If  we  could 
send  our  fabrics,  our  gold  would  stay  at  home  and 
our  general  prosperity  would  be  sensibly  increased. 
But  so  long  as  we  repel  Spanish  America,  so  long 
as  we  leave  her  to  cultivate  intimate  relations  with 
Europe  alone,  so  long  our  trade  relations  will  re 
main  unsatisfactory  and  even  embarrassing. 
Those  countries  sell  to  us  very  heavily.  They 
buy  from  us  very  lightly.  And  the  amount  they 
bring  us  in  debt  each  year  "is  larger  than  the 
heaviest  aggregate  balance  of  trade  we  ever  have 
against  us  in  the  worst  of  times.  The  average 
balance  against  us  for  the  whole  world  in  the  five 
most  adverse  years  we  ever  experienced,  was 
about  one  hundred  millions  of  dollars.  This 
plainly  shows  that  in  our  European  exchanges 
there  is  always  a  balance  in  our  favor  and  that  our 
chief  deficiency  arises  from  our  mal-adjusted  com 
mercial  relations  with  Spanish  America.  It  follows 
that  if  our  Spanish-American  trade  were  placed 


312  JAMES  G.  ULA1NE. 

on  a  better  and  more  equitable  foundation,  it 
would  be  almost  impossible  even  in  years  most 
unfavorable  to  us,  to  bring  us  in  debt  to  the  world. 

"  With  such  heavy  purchases  as  we  are  com 
pelled  to  make  from  Spanish  America,  it  could 
hardly  be  expected  that  we  should  be  able  to 
adjust  the  entire  account  by  exports.  But  the 
balance  against  us  of  one  hundred  and  twenty 
millions  in  gold  coin  is  far  too  large,  and  in  time 
of  stringency  is  a  standing  menace  of  final  disaster. 
It  should  not  be  forgotten  that  every  million 
dollars  of  products  or  fabrics  that  we  sell  in 
Spanish  America  is  a  million  dollars  in  gold  saved 
to  our  own  country.  The  immediate  profit  is  to 
the  producer  and  exporter,  but  the  entire  country 
realizes  a  gain  in  the  ease  and  affluence  of  the 
money  market  which  is  insured  by  keeping  our 
gold  at  home.  The  question  involved  is  so  large, 
the  object  to  be  achieved  is  so  great,  that  no  effort 
on  the  part  of  the  'Government  to  accomplish  it 
could  be  too  earnest  or  too  long  continued. 

"It  is  only  claimed  for  the  Peace  Congress, 
designed  under  the  Administration  of  Garfield, 
that  it  was  an  important  and  impressive  step  on 
the  part  of  the  United  States  toward  closer  rela 
tionship  with  our  continental  neighbors.  The 
present  tendency  in  those  countries  is  toward 
Europe,  and  it  is  a  lamentable  fact  that  their 
people  are  not  so  near  to  us  in  feeling  as  they 
were  sixty  years  ago  when  they  threw  off  the 


S  A CKE  TARY  OF  STA  T&.  3 1 3 

yoke  of  Spanish  tyranny.  We  were  then  a  weak 
Republic  of  but  ten  millions,  but  we  did  not 
hesitate  to  recognize  the  independence  of  the 
new  governments,  even  at  the  risk  of  war  with 
Spain.  Our  foreign  policy  at  that  time  was 
specially  designed  to  extend  our  influence  in  the 
Western  Hemisphere,  and  the  statesmen  of  that 
era — the  era  of  DeWitt  Clinton  and  the  younger 
Adams,  of  Clay  and  of  Crawford,  of  Webster  and 
Calhoun,  of  Van  Buren  and  Benton,  of  Jackson 
and  of  Edward  Livingston — were  always  coura 
geous  in  the  inspiring  measures  which  they  advo 
cated  for  the  expansion  of  our  commercial 
dominion. 

"Three  score  years  have  passed.  The  power 
of  the  Republic  in  many  directions  has  grown 
beyond  all  anticipation,  but  we  have  relatively 
lost  ground  in  some  great  fields  of  enterprise. 
We  have  added  thousands  of  miles  to  our  ocean 
front,  but  our  commerce  has  fallen  off,  and  from 
ardent  friendship  with  Spanish  America  we  have 
drifted  into  indifference  if  not  into  coldness.  It  is 
but  one  step  further  to  reach  a  condition  of  posi 
tive  unfriendliness,  which  may  end  in  what 
would  be  equivalent  to  a  commercial  alliance 
against  us.  Already  one  of  the  most  dangerous 
of  movements — that  of  a  European  guarantee 
and  guardianship  of  the  Interoceanic  Canal — is 
suggested  and  urged  upon  the  Great  Foreign 
Powers  by  representatives  of  a  South  American 


314  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

country.  If  these  tendencies  are  to  be  averted, 
if  Spanish-American  friendship  is  to  be  regained, 
if  the  commercial  empire  that  legitimately  belongs 
to  us  is  to  be  ours,  we  must  not  lie  idle  and 
witness  its  transfer  to  others.  '*  If  we  would  recon 
quer  it,  a  great  first  step  is  to  be  taken.  It  is  the 
first  step  that  costs.  It  is  also  the  first  step  that 
counts.  Can  there  be  suggested  a  wiser  step 
than  the  Peace  Congress  of  the  two  Americas, 
that  was  devised  under  Garfield,  and  had  the 
weight  of  his  great  name  ? 

"In  no  event  could  harm  have  resulted  in  the 
assembling  of  the  Peace  Congress;  failure. was 
next  to  impossible.  Success  might  be  regarded 
as  certain.  The  subject  to  be  discussed  was 
peace,  and  how  it  can  be  permanently  preserved 
in  North  and  South  America.  The  labors  of  the 
Congress  would  have  probably  ended  in  a  well- 
digested  system  of  arbitration,  under  which  all 
troubles  between  American  States  could  be  quick 
ly,  effectually  and  satisfactorily  adjusted.  Such  a 
consummation  would  have  been  worth  a  great 
struggle  and  a  great  sacrifice.  It  could  have 
been  reached  without  any  struggle  and  would 
have  involved  no  sacrifice.  It  was  within  our 
grasp.  It  was  ours  for  the  asking.  It  would 
have  been  a  signal  victory  of  philanthropy  over 
the  selfishness  of  human  ambition  ;  a  complete 
triumph  of  Christian  principles  as  applied  to  the 
affairs  of  Nations.  It  would  have  reflected  enduring 


SECRfi  TAR  Y  OF  STA  TE.  315 

honor  on  our  new  country,  and  would  have  im 
parted  a  new  spirit  and  a  new  brotherhood  to 
all  America.  Nor  would  its  influence  beyond  the 
sea  have  been  small.  The  example  of  seventeen 
independent  Nations  solemnly  agreeing  to  abolish 
the  arbitrament  of  the  sword,  and  to  settle  every 
dispute  by  peaceful  methods  of  adjudication,  would 
have  exerted  an  influence  to  the  utmost  confines 
of  civilization,  and  upon  the  generations  of  men 
yet  to  come. 

"  JAMES  G.  BLAINE." 


CHAPTER  XII. 

IN  MEMORIAM. 

The  Eulogy  on  Garfield — An  Impressive  Scene  in  the  Hall  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  at  Washington — A  Distinguished  Audience  in 
Attendance — Eminent  Fitness  of  the  Speaker  to  the  Theme — Memo 
ries  of  Sixteen  Years  Before — An  Eloquent  Review  of  the  Career  of 
America's  Second  Martyr  President — The  Full  Text  of  the  Oration. 

Seldom  has  it  fallen  to  the  lot  of  man  to  par 
ticipate  in  a  more  impressive  ceremony  than  that 
of  February  27,  1882,  in  the  Hall  of  the  House 
of  Representatives  at  Washington.  Briefly  stated, 
the  occasion  was  that  of  the  delivery  of  the  official 
eulogy  upon  the  late  President,  James  A.  Garfield, 
by  James  G.  Elaine,  in  the  presence  of  the  Con 
gress  and  the  chief  Executive  and  Judicial  officers 
of  State.  This  perfunctory  record,  however, 
indicates,  except  by  suggestion,  only  an  infinitesi 
mal  fraction  of  the  interest  attached  to  the  event. 

The  audience  assembled  on  that  day  comprised 
the  members  of  both  Houses  of  Congress,  the 
President  and  his  Cabinet,  the  Supreme  Court, 
many  official  representatives  of  foreign  govern 
ments,  and  a  great  number  of  the  most  distin 
guished  men  and  women  in  all  walks  of  American 
life.  The  purpose  was  to  do  honor,  by  the  delivery 
of  a  formal  eulogium,  to  the  memory  of  one  of 


IN  MRMORIAM.  3 1 7 

the  most  loved  and  honored  American  statesmen 
of  the  age,  who  less  than  a  year  and  a  half  ago 
had  been  elected  President  of  the  Republic,  who 
after  a  brilliant  administration  extending  over  only 
one-twelfth  of  the  legal  time  allotted  term  of  office, 
had  been  stricken  down  by  the  murderous  hand 
of  a  madman,  and  who,  after  a  painful  lingering 
of  many  weeks,  had  gone  to  his  grave  amid  the 
tears  and  lamentations  of  the  entire  nation,  and 
amid  the  respectful  sympathy  of  the  whole  civilized 
world,  leaving  behind  him  a  record  of  public  ser 
vice,  of  personal  charm,  of  patriotic  achievement, 
of  manly  virtue,  seldom  rivalled  in  all  the  pages 
of  American  history.  This  eulogium  was  most 
appropriately  to  be  pronounced  by  the  man  who 
was  that  martyr  President's  most  eminent  and 
most  trusted  councillor  of  State,  and  most  in 
timate  and  beloved  friend,  and  who  was,  moreover, 
himself  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  and  esteemed 
of  American  statesmen. 

The  capital  city  of  the  Republic  was  flooded  on 
that  day  with  a  wealth  of  genial  sunshine.  Busi 
ness  houses  everywhere  were  closed  in  token  of 
respect  to  the  day,  and  the  national  colors  were 
everywhere  floating  at  half  mast.  All  through  the 
bright  hours  of  the  morning,  throngs  of  people,  on 
foot  and  in  all  sorts  of  equipages,  were  traversing 
the  stately  avenues  converging  on  the  great  white 
Capitol.  Long  before  the  doors  of  the  Hall  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  were  open,  a 


318  JAAWS    C.    JiLAINE. 

multitude  had  gathered  about  them  large  enough 
to  fill  many  times  all  the  available  space.  A  few 
moments  after  the  opening  of  the  doors  all  the 
seats  save  those  reserved  for  specially  invited 
guests  were  occupied.  It  was  an  audience  dis 
tinguished  but  solemn  in  appearance,  nearly 
every  one  being  dressed  in  funereal  black.  There 
were  no  special  decorations  in  the  hall  except  a 
large  portrait  of  Garfield.  All  the  litter  of  books 
and  papers  which  usually  strews  the  floor  and 
desks  had  been  removed.  Special  rows  of  chairs 
had  been  placed  for  the  President,  Cabinet, 
Senators,  and  members  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps 
and  also  for  the  members  of  the  Ohio  Legislature 
and  various  other  guests.  The  Marine  Band, 
stationed  in  the  corridor  outside,  played  appro 
priate  music. 

Conspicuous  among  the  special  guests  was  the 
venerable  George  Bancroft,  who  sixteen  years 
before  had  been  the  orator  of  the  day  on  a  similar 
occasion,  when  for  the  first  time  in  American 
history  the  Congress  assembled  to  honor  the 
memory  of  a  murdered  Chief  Magistrate.  W. 
W.  Corcoran  was  there,  the  aged  philanthropist 
who  had  done  so  much  to  adorn  the  nation's 
capital.  There  were  also  Cyrus  W.  Field,  the 
projector  and  constructor  of  the  Atlantic  Cable  ; 
William  T.  Sherman,  the  General  of  the  American 
army,  with  his  gallant  comrades,  Sheridan,  Han 
cock,  Howard,  and  Meiers  ;  Admiral  Porter  and  a 


AY  MEMOKIAM.  ^TQ 

distinguished  company  of  officers  of  the  Navy  ; 
the  members  of  the  Diplomatic  Corps,  resplendent 
in  Court  uniforms  ;  the  members  of  the  Supreme 
Court,  in  their  gowns  of  office  ;  and  the  President 
of  the  United  States  and  the  members  of  his 
Cabinet.  All  these,  together  with  the  Senators  and 
Representatives,  displayed  badges  of  mourning. 

Sixteen  years  before,  as  we  have  said,  on  a 
Monday  in  February,  the  Capitol  had  seen  a 
similar  gathering  in  memory  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 
On  that  occasion  the  eulogy  was  delivered  by 
George  Bancroft,  who  was  here  present.  Nine 
teen  members  only  of  this  Congress  had  been 
members  then.  Garfield  had  been,  at  that  time, 
a  member  of  the  House — only  thirty-four  years 
old,  but  already  a  conspicuous  leader  of  his  party. 
James  G.  Elaine  had  also  then  been  a  Represen 
tative,  rapidly  rising  toward  the  Speakership. 
Roscoe  Conkling  and  Rutherford  B.  Hayes,  Ran 
dall  and  Kelley,  Kassgn,  and  Voorhees,  and  Allison, 
and  Dawes,  and  Morrill,  had  been  members  of 
that  former  House ;  and  Windom,  who  was 
Garfield's  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  On  that 
occasion,  Ulysses  S.  Grant  had  been  present,  in 
the  uniform  of  a  Lieutenant-General.  Jefferson 
Davis  was,  at  that  time,  still  a  prisoner  in  Fortress 
Monroe.  Alexander  H.  Stephens  had  only 
recently  been  liberated  on  parole,  as  had  also 
nearly  a  dozen  rebel  leaders  who  now,  restored  to 
the  enjoyment  of  their  citizenship  and  political 


320  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

rights,     were     members     of    the    United     States 
Senate. 

It  was  amid  memories  such  as  these,  and  mem 
ories,  too,  of  the  great  events  that  had  occurred 
during  the  intervening  sixteen  years,  that  this 
audience  gathered  to  do  honor  to  the  memory  of 
Garfield.  The  programme  of  services  was  a  very 
simple  one.  Shortly  after  twelve  o'clock,  noon, 
the  Speaker  called  the  House  to  order.  Prayer 
was  offered  by  the  Chaplain.  The  Clerk  read  the 
resolution  of  the  two  Houses  under  which  the 
services  were  to  be  held.  Then  the  members  of 
the  Senate  and  other  guests  filed  in  and  took  their 
places.  Last  came  the  orator  of  the  day,  escorted 
by  Senator  Sherman  and  Representative  McKin- 
ley,  and  accompanied  by  William  E.  Chandler, 
Stephen  B.  Elkins,  Thomas  H.  Sherman  and 
Emmons  Elaine.  Mr.  Blaine  took  his  place  at  the 
Clerk's  desk.  Before  him  lay  the  manuscript  of 
his  oration,  written  in  a  large,  bold  hand,  upon 
heavy  paper  with  a  broad  black  border.  Feeling, 
perhaps  more  deeply  than  any  one  else  in  all  the 
great  assemblage,  the  full  and  serious  importance 
of  the  occasion,  he  spoke  slowly,  bravely  and  with 
most  impressive  fervor.  Throughout,  the  assem 
bled  thousands  listened  with  silent  and  sympathetic 
attention.  At  the  end  of  the  oration,  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States  led  the  audience  in  a 
hearty  round  of  applause  to  the  speaker,  applause 
that,  under  the  circumstances,  had  a  singularly 


IN  MEMORIAM.  32  [ 

solemn  sound.  Then  the  distinguished  guests 
departed,  and  the  general  audience  followed  them. 
The  Nation  had  paid  its  last  formal  tribute  of  re 
spect  to  one  of  its  most  loved  and  honored  servants. 
Mr.  Elaine's  oration  on  this  occasion  forms  an 
essential  part  of  his  own  history,  as  well  as  of  the 
history  of  Garfield  and  of  the  history  of  the 
Nation,  and  it  is  accordingly  herewith  printed  in 
full. 

THE    ORATION. 

Mr.  President: — For  the  second  time  in  this 
generation  the  great  departments  of  the  govern 
ment  of  the  United  States  are  assembled  in  the 
Hall  of  Representatives,  to  do  honor  to  the 
memory  of  a  murdered  President.  Lincoln  fell 
at  the  close  of  a  mighty  struggle,  in  which  the 
passions  of  men  had  been  deeply  stirred.  The 
tragical  termination  of  his  great  life  added  but 
another  to  the  lengthened  succession  of  horrors 
which  had  marked  so  many  lintels  with  the  blood 
of  the  first-born.  Garfield  was  slain  in  a  day  of 
peace,  when  brother  had  been  reconciled  to 
brother,  and  when  anger  and  hate  had  been  ban 
ished  from  the  land.  "Whoever  shall  hereafter 
draw  the  portrait  of  murder,  if  he  will  show  it  as 
it  has  been  exhibited  where  such  example  was  last 
to  have  been  looked  for,  let  him  not  give  it  the 
grim  visage  of  Moloch,  the  brow  knitted  by 
revenge,  the  face  black  with  settled  hate.  Let  him 
draw,  rather,  a  decorous,  smooth-faced,  bloodless 


322  JAMES   G.    BLAINE. 

demon  ;  not  so  much  an  example  of  human 
nature  in  its  depravity  and  in  its  paroxysms  of 
crime,  as  an  infernal  being,  a  fiend  in  the  ordinary 
display  and  development  of  his  character." 

From  the  landing  of  the.  Pilgrims  at  Plymouth 
till  the  uprising  against  Charles  I.,  about  twenty 
thousand  emigrants  came  from  Old  England  to 
New  England,  ^s  they  came  in  pursuit  of  intel 
lectual  freedom  and  ecclesiastical  independence 
rather  than  for  worldly  honor  and  profit,  the  emi 
gration  naturally  ceased  when  the  contest  for 
religious  liberty  began  in  earnest  at  home.  The 
man  who  struck  his  most  effective  blow  for  free 
dom  of  conscience  by  sailing  for  the  colonies  in 
1620,  would  have  been  accounted  a  deserter  to 
leave  after  1640.  The  opportunity  had  then  come 
on  the  soil  of  England  for  that  great  contest 
which  established  the  authority  of  Parliament, 
gave  religious  freedom  to  the  people,  sent  Charles 
to  the  block,  and  committed  to  the  hands  of  Oliver 
Cromwell  the  supreme  executive  authority  of 
England.  The  English  emigration  was  never 
renewed,  and  from  these  twenty  thousand  men, 
and  from  a  small  emigration  from  Scotland,  from 
Ireland,  and  from  France,  are  descended  the  vast 
numbers  who  have  New  England  blood  in  their 
veins. 

In  1685,  the  revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes 
by  Louis  XIV.,  scattered  to  other  countries  four 
hundred  thousand  Protestants,  who  were  among 


IN  MEMORIAM.  3^3 

the  most  intelligent  and  enterprising  of  French 
subjects — merchants  of  capital,  skilled  manufact 
urers  and  handicraftsmen,  superior  at  the  time  to 
all  others  in  Europe.  A  considerable  number  of 
these  Huguenot  French  came  to  America ;  a  few 
landed  in  New  England  and  became  honorably 
prominent  in  its  history.  Their  names  have  in 
part  become  anglicized,  or  have  disappeared,  but 
their  blood  is  traceable  in  many  of  the  most 
reputable  families,  and  their  fame  is  perpetuated 
in  honorable  memorials  and  useful  institutions. 

From  these  two  sources,  the  English-Puritan 
and  the  French- Huguenot,  came  the  late  Presi 
dent — his  father,  Abram  Garfield,  being  descended 
from  the  one,  and  his  mother,  Eliza  Ballou,  from 
the  other. 

It  was  good  stock  on  both  sides — none  better, 
none  braver,  none  truer.  There  was  in  it  an  in 
heritance  of  courage,  of  manliness,  of  imperish 
able  love  of  liberty,  of  undying  adherence  to 
principle.  Garfield  was  proud  of  his  blood  ;  and, 
with  as  much  satisfaction  as  if  he  were  a  British 
nobleman  reading  his  stately  ancestral  record  in 
Burke' s  Peerage,  he  spoke  of  himself  as  ninth  in 
descent  from  those  who  would  not  endure  the 
oppression  of  the  Stuarts,  the  seventh  in  descent 
from  the  brave  French  Protestants  who  refused  to 
submit  to  tyranny,  even  from  the  Grand  Manarque. 

General  Garfield  delighted  to  dwell  on  these 
traits,  and,  during  his  only  visit  to  England,  he 


JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

busied  himself  in  searching  out  every  trace  of  his 
forefathers  in  parish  registries  and  on  ancient 
army-rolls.  Sitting  with  a  friend  in  the  gallery  of 
the  House  of  Commons  one  night,  after  a  long 
day's  labor  in  this  field  of  research,  he  said,  with 
evident  elation,  that  in  every  war  in  which  for 
three  centuries  patriots  of  English  blood  had 
struck  sturdy  blows  for  constitutional  government 
and  human  liberty,  his  family  had  been  repre 
sented.  They  were  at  Marston  Moor,  at  Naseby, 
and  at  Preston  ;  they  were  at  Bunker  Hill,  at 
Saratoga,  and  at  Monmouth  ;  and  in  his  own  per 
son  had  battled  for  the  same  great  cause  in  the 
war  which  preserved  the  Union  of  the  States. 

His  father  dying  before  he  was  two  years  old, 
Garfield's  early  life  was  one  of  privation,  but  its 
poverty  -has  been  made  indelicately  and  unjustly 
prominent.  Thousands  of  readers  have  imagined 
him  as  the  ragged,  starving  child,  whose  reality 
too  often  greets  the  eye  in  the  squalid  sections  of 
our  large  cities.  General  Garfield's  infancy  and 
youth  had  none  of  this  destitution,  none  of  these 
pitiful  features  appealing  to  the  tender  heart,  and 
to  the  open  hand,  of  chanty.  He  was  a  poor 
boy  in  the  same  sense  in  which  Henry  Clay  was 
a  poor  boy  ;  in  which  Andrew  Jackson  was  a  poor 
boy ;  in  which  Daniel  Webster  was  a  poor  boy  ; 
in  the  sense  in  which  a  large  majority  of  the  emi 
nent  men  of  America  in  all  generations  have 
been  poor  boys.  Before  a  great  multitude  in 


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iN  ME  MORI  AM,  3  2  7 

a  public  speech,  Mr.  Webster  bore  this  tes 
timony  : 

"It  did  not  happen  to  me  to  be  born  in  a  log- 
cabin,  but  my  elder  brothers  and  sisters  were 
born  in  a  log-cabin  raised  amid  the  snowdrifts  of 
New  Hampshire,  at  a  period  so  early  that  when 
the  smoke  rose  first  from  its  rude  chimney  and 
curled  over  the  frozen  hills  there  was  no  similar 
evidence  of  a  white  man's  habitation  between  it 
and  the  settlements  on  the  rivers  of  Canada.  Its 
remains  still  exist.  I  make  to  it  an  annual  visit.  I 
carry  my  children  to  it  to  teach  them  the  hard 
ships  endured  by  the  generations  which  have 
gone  before  them.  I  love  to  dwell  on  the  tender 
recollections,  the  kindred  ties,  the  early  affections, 
and  the  touching  narratives  and  incidents,  which 
mingle  with  all  I  know  of  this  primitive  family 
abode." 

With  the  requisite  change  of  scene  the  same 
words  would  aptly  portray  the  early  days  of  Gar- 
field.  The  poverty  of  the  frontier,  where  all  are 
engaged  in  a  common  struggle,  and  where  a 
common  sympathy  and  hearty  co-operation 
lighten  the  burdens  of  each,  is  a  very  different 
poverty,  different  in  kind,  different  in  influence 
and  effect,  from  the  conscious  and  humiliating 
indigence  which  is  every  day  forced  to  contrast 
itself  with  neighboring  wealth  on  which  it  feels  a 
sense  of  grinding  dependence.  Tlvt  poverty  of 
the  frontier  is  indeed  no  poverty.  It  is  but  the 


328  JAMES   G.    BLAIXE. 

beginning  of  wealth,  and  has  the  boundless  pos 
sibilities  of  the  future  always  opening  before  it. 
No  man  ever  grew  up  in  the  agricultural  regions 
of  the  West,  where  a  house-raising,  or  even  a 
corn-husking,  is  a  matter  of  common  interest  and 
helpfulness,  with  any  other  feeling  than  that  of 
broad-minded,  generous  independence.  This  hon 
orable  independence  marked  the  youth  of  Gar- 
field,  as  it  marks  the  youth  of  millions  of  the  best 
blood  and  brain  now  training  for  the  future  cit 
izenship  and  future  government  of  the  Republic. 
Garfield  was  born  heir  to  land,  to  the  title  of  free 
holder,  which  has  been  the  patent  and  passport  of 
self-respect  with  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  ever  since 
Hengist  and  Horsa  landed  on  the  shores  of  Eng 
land.  His  adventure  on  the  canal — an  alterna 
tive  between  that  and  the  deck  of  a  Lake  Erie 
schooner — was  a  farmer  boy's  device  for  earning 
money,  just  as  the  New  England  lad  begins  a 
possibly  great  career  by  sailing  before  the  mast 
on  a  coasting-vessel,  or  on  a  merchantman  bound 
to  the  farther  India,  or  to  the  China  seas.  No 
manly  man  feels  anything  of  shame  in  looking 
back  to  early  struggles  with  adverse  circum 
stances,  and  no  man  feels  a  worthier  pride  than 
when  he  has  conquered  the  obstacles  to  his  pro 
gress.  But  no  one  of  noble  mould  desires  to  be 
looked  upon  as  having  occupied  a  menial  position, 
as  having  been  repressed  by  a  feeling  of  inferior 
ity,  or  as  having  suffered  the  evils  of  poverty 


IN  MEMORI'A M.  329 

until  relief  was  found  at  the  hand  of  charity. 
General  Garfield's  youth  presented  no  hardships 
which  family  love  and  family  energy  did  not  over 
come,  subjected  him  to  no  privations  which  he 
did  not  cheerfully  accept,  and  left  no  memories 
save  those  which  were  recalled  with  delight,  and 
transmitted  with  profit  and  with  pride. 

Garfield's  early  opportunities  for  securing  an 
education  were  extremely  limited,  and  yet  were 
sufficient  to  develop  in  him  an  intense  desire  to 
learn.  He  could  read  at  three  years  of  age,  and 
each  winter  he  had  the  advantage  of  the  district 
school.  He  read  all  the  books  to  be  found  within 
the  circle  of  his  acquaintance  ;  some  of  them  he 
got  by  heart.  While  yet  in  childhood  he  was  a 
constant  student  of  the  Bible,  and  became  familiar 
with  its  literature.  The  dignity  and  earnestness 
of  his  speech  in  his  maturer  life  gave  evidence  of 
this  early  training.  At  eighteen  years  of  age  he 
was  able  to  teach  school,  and  thenceforward  his 
ambition  was  to  obtain  a  college  education.  To 
this  end  he  bent  all  his  efforts,  working  in  the 
harvest  field,  at  the  carpenter's  bench,  and  in  the 
winter  season,  teaching  the  common  schools  of 
the  neighborhood.  While  thus  laboriously  occu 
pied  he  found  time  to  prosecute  his  studies,  and 
was  so  successful  that  at  twenty-two  years  of  age 
he  was  able  to  enter  the  junior  class  at  Williams 
College,  then  under  the  presidency  of  the  vener 
able  and  honored  Mark  Hopkins,  who,  in  the 


330  JAMES   G.   BLAL\1<:. 

fulness  of  his  powers,  survives  the  eminent  pupil 
to  whom  he  was  of  inestimable  service. 

The  history  of  Garfield's  life  to  this  period, 
presents  no  novel  features.  He  had  undoubtedly 
shown  perseverance,  self-reliance,  self-sacrifice 
and  ambition — qualities  which,  be  it  said  for  the 
honor  of  our  country,  are  everywhere  to  be 
found  among  the  young  men  of  America.  But 
from  his  graduation  at  Williams,  onward  to  the 
hour  of  his  tragical  death,  Garfield's  career  was 
eminent  and  exceptional.  Slowly  working  through 
his  educational  period,  receiving  his  diploma  when 
twenty-four  years  of  age,  he  seemed  at  one  bound 
to  spring  into  conspicuous  and  brilliant  success. 
Within  six  years  he  was  successively  president  of 
a  college,  State  Senator  of  Ohio,  Major-General 
of  the  Army  of  the  United  States,  and  Repre 
sentative-elect  to  the  National  Congress.  A  com- 

o 

bination  of  honors  so  varied,  so  elevated,  within 
a  period  so  brief,  and  to  a  man  so  young,  is  with 
out  precedent  or  parallel  in  the  history  of  the 
country. 

Garfield's  army  life  was  begun  with  no  other 
military  knowledge  than  such  as  he  had  hastily 
gained  from  books  in  the  few  months  preceding 
his  march  to  the  field.  Stepping  from  civil  life  to 
"the  head  of  a  regiment,  the  first  order  he  re 
ceived  when  ready  to  cross  the  Ohio  was  to  as 
sume  command  of  a  brigade,  and  to  operate  as 
an  independent  force  in  Eastern  Kentucky.  His 


IN  MEMORIAM.  33  [ 

immediate  duty  was  to  check  the  advance  of 
Humphrey  Marshall,  who  was  marching  down 
the  Big  Sandy  with  the  intention  of  occupying,  in 
connection  with  other  Confederate  forces,  the  en 
tire  territory  of  Kentucky,  and  of  precipitating 
the  State  into  secession.  This  was  at  the  close 
of  the  year  1861.  Seldom,  if  ever,  has  a  young 
college  professor  been  thrown  into  a  more  em 
barrassing  and  discouraging  position.  He  knew 
just  enough  of  military  science,  as  he  expressed 
it  himself,  to  measure  the  extent  of  his  ignorance, 
and  with  a  handful  of  men  he  was  marching,  in 
rough  winter  weather,  into  a  strange  country, 
among  a  hostile  population,  to  confront  a  largely 
superior  force  under  the  command  of  a  distin 
guished  graduate  of  West  Point,  who  had  seen 
active  and  important  service  in  two  preceding  wars. 
The  result  of  the  campaign  is  matter  of  history. 
The  skill,  the  endurance,  the  extraordinary  energy 
shown  by  Garfield,  the  courage  he  imparted  to  his 
men,  raw  and  untried  as  himself,  the  measures  he 
adopted  to  increase  his  force  and  to  create  in  the 
enemy's  mind  exaggerated  estimates  of  his  num 
bers,  bore  perfect  fruit  in  the  routing  of  Marshall, 
the  capture  of  his  camp,  the  dispersion  of  his 
force,  and  emancipation  of  an  important  territory 
from  the  control  of  the  Rebellion.  Coming  at  the 
close  of  a  long  series  of  disasters  to  the  Union 
arms,  Garfield's  victory  had  an  unusual  and  ex 
traneous  importance,  and  in  the  popular  judgment 


332  JAMES   G.  ELAINE. 

elevated  the  young  commander  to  the  rank  of  a 
military  hero.  With  less  than  two  thousand  men 
in  his  entire  command,  with  a  mobilized  force  of 
only  eleven  hundred,  without  cannon,  he  had  met 
an  army  of  five  thousand  and  defeated  them — 
driving  Marshall's  forces  successively  from  two 
strongholds  of  their  own  selection  fortified  with 
abundant  artillery.  Major-General  Buell,  com 
manding  the  Department  of  the  Ohio,  an  experi 
enced  and  able  soldier  of  the  Regular  Army,  pub 
lished  an  order  of  thanks  and  congratulation  on 
the  brilliant  result  of  the  Big  Sandy  campaign, 
which  would  have  turned  the  head  of  a  less  cool 
and  sensible  man  than  Garfield.  Buell  declared 
that  his  services  had  called  into  action  the  highest 
qualities  of  a  soldier,  and  President  Lincoln  sup 
plemented  these  words  of  praise  by  the  more  sub 
stantial  reward  of  a  Brigadier-General's  commis- 

o 

sion,  to  bear  date   from  the   day  of  his   decisive 
victory  over  Marshall. 

The  subsequent  military  career  of  Garfield  fully 
sustained  its  brilliant  beginning.  With  his  new 
commission  he  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  a 
brigade  in  the  Army  of  the  Ohio,  and  took  part  in 
the  second  and  decisive  day's  fight  in  the  great 
Battle  of  Shiloh.  The  remainder  of  the  year  1862 
was  not  especially  eventful  to  Garfield,  as  it  was 
not  to  the  armies  with  which  he  was  serving.  His 
practical  sense  was  called  into  exercise  in  com 
pleting  the  task  assigned  him  by  General  Bueli.  of 


ftf  MEMORIAM.  333 

reconstructing  bridges  and  re-establishing  lines  of 
railway  communication  for  the  Army.  His  occu 
pation  in  this  useful  but  not  brilliant  field  was  va 
ried  by  service  on  courts-martial  of  importance,  in 
which  department  of  duty  he  won  a  valuable 
reputation,  attracting  the  notice  and  securing  the 
approval  of  the  able  and  eminent  Judge-Advo 
cate-General  of  the  Army,  That  of  itself  was 
warrant  to  honorable  fame  ;  for  among  the  great 
men  who  in  those  trying  days  gave  themselves, 
with  entire  devotion,  to  the  service  of  their  coun 
try,  one  who  brought  to  that  service  the  ripest 
learning,  the  most  fervid  eloquence,  the  most  va 
ried  attainments,  who  labored  with  modesty  and 
shunned  applause,  who  in  the  day  of  triumph  sat 
reserved  and  silent  and  grateful — as  Francis  Deak 
in  the  hour  of  Hungary's  deliverance  —  was 
Joseph  Holt,  of  Kentucky,  who  in  his  honorable 
retirement  enjoys  the  respect  and  veneration  of 
all  who  love  the  Union  of  the  States. 

Early  in  1863  Garfield  was  assigned  to  the 
highly  important  and  responsible  post  of  Chief  of 
Staff  to  General  Rosecrans,  then  at  the  head  of 
the  Army  of  the  Cumberland.  Perhaps  in  a 
great  military  campaign  no  subordinate  officer 
requires  sounder  judgment  and  quicker  knowl 
edge  of  men  than  the  Chief  of  Staff  to  the  com 
manding  general.  An  indiscreet  man  in  such  a 
position  can  sow  more  discord,  breed  more  jeal 
ousy  and  disseminate  more  strife  than  any  other 


334  JAMES   G.   BLA1NE. 

man  in  the  entire  organization.  When  General 
Garfield  assumed  his  new  duties  he  found  various 
troubles  already  well  developed,  and  seriously 
affecting  the  value  and  efficiency  of  the  Army  of 
the  Cumberland  The  energy,  the  impartiality, 
and  the  tact  with  which  he  sought  to  allay  these 
dissensions,  and  to  discharge  the  duties  of  his  new 
and  trying  position,  wjll  always  remain  one  of  the 
most  striking  proofs  of  his  great  versatility.  His 
military  duties  closed  on  the  memorable  field  of 
Chickamauga,  a  field  which,  however  disastrous 
to  the  Union  arms,  gave  to  him  the  occasion  of 
winning  imperishable  laurels.  The  very  rare 
distinction  was  accorded  him  of  a  great  promo 
tion  for  his  bravery  on  the  field  that  was  lost. 
President  Lincoln  appointed  him  a  Major-General 
in  the  Army  of  the  United  States  for  gallant  and 
meritorious  conduct  in  the  Battle  of  Chickamauga. 
The  Army  of  the  Cumberland  was  reorganized 
under  the  command  of  General  Thomas,  who 
promptly  offered  Garfield  one  of  its  divisions. 
He  was  extremely  desirous  to  accept  the  position, 
but  was  embarrassed  by  the  fact  that  he  had,  a 
year  before,  been  elected  to  Congress,  and  the 
time  when  he  must  take  his  seat  was  drawing 
near.  He  preferred  to  remain  in  the  military 
service,  and  had  within  his  own  breast  the  largest 
confidence  of  success  in  the  wider  field  which  his 
new  rank  opened  to  him.  Balancing  the  argu 
ments  on  the  one  side  and  the  other,  anxious  to 


IN  MF.MORIAM.  335 

determine  what  was  for  the  best,  desirous  above 
all  things  to  do  his  patriotic  duty,  he  was  decis 
ively  influenced  by  the  advice  of  President  Lin 
coln  and  Secretary  Stanton,  both  of  whom  as 
sured  him  that  he  could,  at  that  time,  be  of  espe 
cial  value  in  the  House  of  Representatives.  He 
resigned  his  commission  of  Major-General  on 
the  fifth  day  of  December,  1863,  and  took  his 
seat  in  the  House  of  Representatives  on  the 
seventh.  He  had  served  two  years  and  four 
months  in  the  Army,  and  had  just  completed  his 
thirty-second  year. 

The  Thirty-eighth  Congress  is  pre-eminently  en 
titled  in  history  to  the  designation  of  the  War 
Congress.  It  was  elected  while  the  war  was 
flagrant,  and  every  member  was  chosen  upon  the 
issues  involved  in  the  continuance  of  the  struggle. 
The  Thirty-seventh  Congress  had,  indeed,  legis 
lated  to  a  large  extent  on  war  measures,  but  it 
was  chosen  before  any  one  believed  that  secession 
of  the  States  would  be  actually  attempted.  The 
magnitude  of  the  work  which  fell  upon  its  suc 
cessor  was  unprecedented,  both  in  respect  to  the 
vast  sums  of  money  raised  for  the  support  of  the 
Army  and  Navy,  and  of  the  new  and  extraordi 
nary  powers  of  legislation  which  it  was  forced  to 
exercise.  Only  twenty-four  States  were  repre 
sented,  and  one  hundred  and  eighty-two  members 
were  upon  its  roll.  Among  these  were  many  dis 
tinguished  party  leaders  on  both  sides,  veterans 


JAMES  G.  BLAIfrE. 

in  the  public  service,  with  established  reputations 
for  ability,  and  with  that  skill  which  comes  only 
from  parliamentary  experience.  In  this  assem 
blage  of  men  Garfield  entered  without  special  pre- 
pararation,  and,  it  might  almost  be  said,  unex 
pectedly.  The  question  of  taking  command  of  a 
division  of  troops  under  General  Thomas  or  tak 
ing  his  seat  in  Congress  was  kept  open  till  the 
last  moment,  so  late,  indeed,  that  the  resignation 
of  his  military  commission  and  his  appearance  in 
the  House  were  almost  contemporaneous.  He 
wore  the  uniform  of  a  Major-General  of  the 
United  States  Army  on  Saturday,  and  on  Mon 
day,  in  civilian's  dress,  he  answered  to  the  roll- 
call  as  a  Representative  in  Congress  from  the 
State  of  Ohio. 

He  was  especially  fortunate  in  the  constituency 
which  elected  him.  Descended  almost  entirely 
from  New  England  stock,  the  men  of  the  Ashta- 
bula  District  were  intensely  radical  on  all  ques 
tions  relating  to  human  rights.  Well  educated, 
thrifty,  thoroughly  intelligent  in  affairs,  acutely 
discerning  of  character,  not  quick  to  bestow  con 
fidence,  and  slow  to  withdraw  it,  they  were  at 
once  the  most  helpful  and  most  exacting  of  sup 
porters.  Their  tenacious  trust  in  men  in  whom 
they  have  once  confided  is  illustrated  by  the  un 
paralleled  fact  that  Elisha  Whittlesey,  Joshua  R. 
Giddings  and  James  A.  Garfield  represented  the 
district  for  fifty-four  years. 


IN  ME  MORI  AM.  337 

There  is  no  test  of  a  man's  ability  in  any  de 
partment  of  public  life  more  severe  than  service 
in  the  House  of  Representatives ;  there  is  no 
place  where  so  little  deference  is  paid  to  reputa 
tion  previously  acquired,  or  to  eminence  won  out 
side  ;  no  place  where  so  little  consideration  is 
shown  for  the  feelings  or  the  failures  of  beginners. 
What  a  man  gains  in  the  House  he  gains  by  sheer 
force  of  his  own  character,  and  if  he  loses  and 
falls  back  he  must  expect  n®  mercy,  and  will 
receive  no  sympathy.  It  is  a  field  in  which  the 
survival  of  the  strongest  is  the  recognized  rule, 
and  where  no  pretence  can  deceive  and  no  glamour 
can  mislead.  The  real  man  is  discovered,  his 
worth  is  impartially  weighed,  his  rank  is  irre 
versibly  decreed.  With  possibly  a  single  excep 
tion,  Garfield  was  the  youngest  member  in  the 
House  when  he  entered,  and  was  but  seven  years 
from  his  college  graduation.  But  he  had  not  been 
in  his  seat  sixty  days  before  his  ability  was  recog 
nized  and  his  place  conceded.  He  stepped  to  the 
front  with  the  confidence  of  one  who  belonged 
there.  The  House  was  crowded  with  strong  men 
of  both  parties  ;  nineteen  of  them  have  since  been 
transferred  to  the  Senate,  and  many  of  them  have 
served  with  distinction  in  the  gubernatorial  chairs 
of  their  respective  States,  and  on  Foreign  Mis 
sions  of  great  consequence  ;  but  among  them  all 
none  grew  so  rapidly,  none  so  firmly  as  Garfield. 
As  is  said  by  Trevelyan  of  his  Parliamentary  hero, 


338  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

Garfield  succeeded  "  because  all  the  world  in  con 
cert  could  not  have  kept  him  in  the  background, 
and  because  when  once  in  the  front  he  played  his 
part  with  a  prompt  intrepidity  and  a  commanding 
ease  that  were  but  the  outward  symptoms  of  the 
immense  reserves  of  energy  on  which  it  was  in 
his  power  to  draw."  Indeed,  the  apparently  re 
served  force  which  Garfield  possessed  was  one  of 
his  great  characteristics.  He  never  did  so  well 
but  that  it  seemed  he  could  easily  have  done 
better.  He  never  expended  so  much  strength 
but  that  he  seemed  to  be  holding  additional  power 
at  call.  This  is  one  of  the  happiest  and  rarest 
distinctions  of  an  effective  debater,  and  often 
counts  for  as  much  in  persuading  an  assembly  as 
the  eloquent  and  elaborate  argument. 

The    creat    measure    of    Garfield's    fame   was 

o 

filled  by  his  services  in  the  House  of  Representa 
tives.  His  military  life,  illustrated  by  honorable- 
performance,  and  rich  in  promise,  was,  as  he  him 
self  felt,  prematurely  terminated  and  necessarily 
incomplete.  Speculation  as  to  what  he  might 
have  done  in  a  field  where  the  great  prizes  are  so 
few  cannot  be  profitable.  It  is  sufficient  to  say 
that  as  a  soldier  he  did  his  duty  bravely ;  he 
did  it  intelligently  ;  he  won  an  enviable  fame, 
and  he  retired  from  the  service  without  blot 
or  breath  against  him.  As  a  lawyer,  though 
admirably  equipped  for  the  profession,  he  can 
scarcely  be  said  to  have  entered  on  its  practice. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  339 

The  few  efforts  he  made  at  the  bar  were 
distinguished  by  the  same  high  order  of  talent 
which  he  exhibited  on  every  field  where  he  was 
put  to  the  test,  and  if  a  man  may  be  accepted  as 
a  competent  judge  of  his  own  capacities  and 
adaptations,  the  law  was  the  profession  to  which 
Garfield  should  have  devoted  himself.  But  fate 
ordained  otherwise,  and  his  reputation  in  history 
will  rest  largely  upon  his  service  in  the  House  of 
Representatives.  That  service  was  exceptionally 
long.  He  was  nine  times  consecutively  chosen  to 
the  House,  an  honor  enjoyed  by  not  more  than 
six  other  Representatives  of  the  more  than  five 
thousand  who  have  been  elected  from  the  organi 
zation  of  the  Government  to  this  hour. 

As  a  parliamentary  orator,  as  a  debater  on  an 
issue  squarely  joined,  where  the  position  had  been 
chosen  and  the  ground  laid  out,  Garfield  must 
be  assigned  a  very  high  rank.  More,  perhaps, 
than  any  man  with  whom  he  was  associated  in 
public  life,  he  gave  careful  and  systematic  study 
to  public  questions,  and  he  came  to  every  discus 
sion  in  which  he  took  part  with  elaborate  and 
complete  preparation.  He  was  a  steady  and  in 
defatigable  worker.  Those  who  imagine  that 
talent  or  genius  can  supply  the  place  or  achieve 
the  results  of  labor  will  find  no  encouragement  in 
Garfield's  life.  In  preliminary  work  he  was  apt, 
rapid  and  skilful.  He  possessed,  in  a  high  degree, 
the  power  of  readily  absorbing  ideas  and  facts, 


340  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

and,  like  Dr.  Johnson,  had  the  art  of  getting  from 
a  book  all  that  was  of  value  in  it  by  a  reading  ap 
parently  so  quick  and  cursory  that  it  seemed  like 
a  mere  glance  at  the  table  of  contents.  He  was 
a  pre-eminently  fair  and  candid  man  in  debate, 
took  no  petty  advantage,  stooped  to  no  unworthy 
methods,  avoided  personal  allusions,  rarely  ap 
pealed  to  prejudice,  did  not  seek  to  inflame  pas 
sion.  He  had  a  quicker  eye  for  the  strong  point 
of  his  adversary  than  for  his  weak  point,  and  on 
his  own  side  he  so  marshalled  his  weighty  argu 
ments  as  to  make  his  hearers  forget  any  possible 
lack  in  the  complete  strength  of  his  position.  He 
had  a  habit  of  stating  his  opponent's  side  with 
such  amplitude  and  fairness,  and  such  liberality 
of  concession,  that  his  followers  often  complained 
that  he  was  giving  his  case  away.  But  never  in 
his  prolonged  participation  in  the  proceedings  of 
the  House  did  he  give  his  case  away,  or  fail  in 
the  judgment  of  competent  and  impartial  listeners 
to  gain  the  mastery. 

These  characteristics  which  marked  Garfield  as 
a  great  debater,  did  not,  however,  make  him  a 
great  parliamentary  leader.  A  parliamentary 
leader,  as  that  term  is  understood  wherever  free 
representative  government  exists,  is  necessarily 
and  very  strictly  the  organ  of  his  party.  An 
ardent  American  defined  the  instinctive  warmth 
of  patriotism  when  he  offered  the  toast,  "Our 
country,  always  right,  but,  right  or  wrong,  our 


IN  ME  MORI  AM.  34! 

country."  The  parliamentary  leader  who  has  a 
body  of  followers  that  will  do  and  dare  and  die 
for  the  cause  is  one  who  believes  his  party  always 
right,  but  right  or  wrong  is  for  his  party.  No 
more  important  or  exacting  duty  devolves  upon 
him  than  the  selection  of  the  field  and  the  time 
for  the  contest.  He  must  know  not  merely  how 
to  strike,  but  where  to  strike  and  when  to  strike. 
He  often  skilfully  avoids  the  strength  of  his 
opponent's  position  and  scatters  confusion  in  his 
ranks  by  attacking  an  exposed  poin*  when  really 
the  righteousness  of  the  cause  and  the  strength 
of  logical  intrenchment  are  against  him.  He  con 
quers  often  both  against  the  right  and  the  heavy 
battalions ;  as  when  young  Charles  Fox,  in  the 
days  of  his  Toryism,  carried  the  House  of  Com 
mons  against  justice,  against  its  immemorial 
rights,  against  his  own  convictions,  if,  indeed,  at 
that  period  Fox  had  convictions,  and,  in  the  inter 
est  of  a  corrupt  administration,  in  obedience  to  a 
tyrannical  sovereign,  drove  Wilkes  from  the  seat 
to  which  the  electors  of  Middlesex  had  chosen  him 
and  installed  Luttrell  in  defiance,  not  merely  ol 
law,  but  of  public  decency.  For  an  achievement 
of  that  kind,  Garfield  was  disqualified — disqualified 
by  the  texture  of  his  mind,  by  the  honesty  o/  his 
heart,  by  his  conscience,  and  by  every  instinct  and 
aspiration  of  his  nature. 

The    three    most    distinguished    parliamentary 
leaders  hitherto  developed  in  this  country  are  Mr. 


342  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

Clay,  Mr.  Douglas  and  Thaddeus  Stevens.  Each 
was  a  man  of  consummate  ability,  of  great  ear 
nestness,  of  intense  personality,  differing  widely 
each  from  the  others,  and  yet  with  a  single  trait 
in  common — the  power  to  command.  In  the  give 
and  take  of  discussion,  in  the  art  of  controlling 
and  consolidating  reluctant  and  refractory  follow 
ers,  in  the  skill  to  overcome  all  forms  of  opposi 
tion,  and  to  meet  with  competency  and  courage 
the  varying  phases  of  unlooked-for  assault  or  un 
suspected  defection,  it  would  be  difficult  to  rank 
with  these  a  fourth  name  in  all  our  Congressional 
history.  But  of  these  Mr.  Clay  was  the  greatest. 
It  would,  perhaps,  be  impossible  to  find  in  the 
parliamentary  annals  of  the  world  a  parallel  to 
Mr.  Clay  in  1841,  when,  at  sixty- four  years  of  age, 
he  took  the  control  of  the  Whig  party  from  the 
President  who  had  received  their  suffrages,  against 
the  power  of  Webster  in  the  Cabinet,  against  the 
eloquence  of  Choate  in  the  Senate,  against  the 
herculean  efforts  of  Caleb  Cushing  and  Henry 
A.  Wise  in  the  House.  In  unshared  leadership, 
in  the  pride  and  plenitude  of  power,  he  hurled 
against  John  Tyler  with  deepest  scorn  the  mass 
of  that  conquering  column  which  had  swept  over 
the  land  in  1840,  and  drove  his  Administration  to 
seek  shelter  behind  the  lines  of  his  political  foes. 
Mr.  Douglas  achieved  a  victory  scarcely  less  won 
derful  when,  in  1854,  against  the  secret  desires  of 
a  strong  Administration,  against  the  wise  counsel 


JOHN  A.  LOGAN. 


IN  MEMORIAM. 

of  the  older  chiefs,  against  the  conservative  in 
stincts  and  even  the  moral  sense  of  the  country, 
he  forced  a  reluctant  Congress  into  a  repeal  of 
the  Missouri  Compromise.  Thaddeus  Stevens, 
in  his  contests  from  1865  to  1868,  actually  ad 
vanced  his  parliamentary  leadership  until  Con 
gress  tied  the  hands  of  the  President  and  gov 
erned  the  country  by  its  own  will,  leaving  only 
perfunctory  duties  to  be  discharged  by  the  Exec 
utive.  With  two  hundred  millions  of  patronage 
in  his  hands  at  the  opening  of  the  contest,  aided 
by  the  active  force  of  Seward  in  the  Cabinet,  and 
the  moral  power  of  Chase  on  the  Bench,  Andrew* 
Johnson  could  not  command  the  support  of  one- 
third  in  either  House  against  the  parliamentary 
uprising  of  which  Thaddeus  Stevens  was  the  ani 
mating  spirit  and  the  unquestioned  leader. 

From  these  three  great  men  Garfield  differed 
radically,  differed  in  the  quality  of  his  mind,  in 
temperament,  in  the  form  and  phase  of  ambition. 
He  could  not  do  what  they  did,  but  he  could  do 
what  they  could  not,  and  in  the  breadth  of  his 
Congressional  work  he  left  that  which  will  longer 
exert  a  potential  influence  among  men,  and  which, 
measured  by  the  severe  test  of  posthumous  crit 
icism,  will  secure  a  more  enduring  and  more  en 
viable  fame, 

Those  unfamiliar  with  Garfield's  industry,  and 
ignorant  of  the  details  of  his  work,  may,  in  some 
degree,  measure  them  by  the  annals  of  Congress. 


20 


346  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

No  one  of  the  generation  of  public  men  to  which 
he  belonged  has  contributed  so  much  that  will  be 
valuable  for  future  reference.  His  speeches  are 
numerous,  many  of  them  brilliant,  all  of  them 
well  studied,  carefully  phrased,  and  exhaustive  of 
the  subject  under  consideration.  Collected  from 
the  scattered  pages  of  ninety  royal  octavo  vol 
umes  of  The  Congressional  Record,  they  would 
present  an  invaluable  compendium  of  the  politi 
cal  history  of  the  most  important  era  through 
which  the  National  Government  has  ever  passed. 
When  the  history  of  this  period  shall  be  impar 
tially  written,  \vhen  war  legislation,  measures  of 
reconstruction,  protection  of  human  rights,  amend 
ments  to  the  Constitution,  maintenance  of  public 
credit,  steps  toward  specie  resumption,  true  the 
ories  of  revenue,  may  be  reviewed,  unsurrounded 
by  prejudice  and  disconnected  from  partisanism, 
the  speeches  of  Garfield  will  be  estimated  at  their 
true  value,  and  will  be  found  to  comprise  a  vast 
magazine  of  fact  and  argument,  of  clear  analysis 
and  sound  conclusion.  Indeed,  if  no  other  au 
thority  were  accessible,  his  speeches  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  from  December,  1863,  to  June, 
1880,  would  give  a  well-connected  history  and 
complete  defence  of  the  important  legislation  of 
the  seventeen  eventful  years  that  constitute  his 
parliamentary  life.  Far  beyond  that,  his  speeches 
would  be  found  to  forecast  many  great  measures, 
yet  to  be  completed-^measures  which  he  knew 


IN  MEMO RI AM.  347 

were  beyond  the  public  opinion  of  the  hour,  but 
which  he  confidently  believed  would  secure  pop 
ular  approval  within  the  period  of  his  own  life 
time,  and  by  the  aid  of  his  own  efforts. 

Differing,  as  Garfield  does,  from  the  brilliant 
parliamentary  leaders,  it  is  not  easy  to  find  his 
counterpart  anywhere  in  the  record  of  American 
public  life.  He  perhaps  more  nearly  resembles 
Mr.  Seward  in  his  supreme  faith  in  the  all-con 
quering  power  of  a  principle.  He  had  the  love 
of  learning,  and  the  patient  industry  of  investiga 
tion  to  which  John  Quincy  Adams  owes  his*prom- 
inence  and  his  Presidency.  He  had  some  of  those 
ponderous  elements  of  mind  which  distinguished 
Mr.  Webster,  and  which,  indeed,  in  all  our  public 
life  have  left  the  great  Massachusetts  Senator 
without  an  intellectual  peer. 

In  English  Parliamentary  history,  as  in  our  own, 
the  leaders  in  the  House  of  Commons  present 
points  of  essential  difference  from  Garfield.  But 
some  of  his  methods  recall  the  best  features  in  the 
strong,  independent  course  of  Sir  Robert  Peel, 
and  striking  resemblances  are  discernible  in  that 
most  promising  of  modern  conservatives,  who  died 
too  early  for  his  country  and  his  fame,  the  Lord 
George  Bentinck.  He  had  all  of  Burke's  love  for 
the  sublime  and  the  beautiful,  with,  posssibly, 
some  of  his  superabundance  ;  and  in  his  faith  and 
his  magnanimity,  in  his  power  of  statement,  in  his 
subtle  analysis,  in  his  faultless  logic,  in  hrs  love  of 


348  JAMES  G.   ELAINE. 

literature,  in  his  wealth  and  world  of  illustration, 
one  is  reminded  of  that  great  English  statesman  of 
to-day,  who,  confronted  with  obstacles  that  would 
daunt  any  but  the  dauntless,  reviled  by  those 
whom  he  would  relieve,  as  bitterly  as  by  those 
whose  supposed  rights  he  is  forced  to  invade,  still 
labors  with  serene  courage  for  the  amelioration 
of  Ireland,  and  for  the  honor  of  the  English 
name. 

Garfield's  nomination  to  the  Presidency,  while 
not  predicted  or  anticipated,  was  not  a  surprise  to 
the  country.  His  prominence  in  Congress,  his 
solid  qualities,  his  wide  reputation,  strengthened 
by  his,  then,  recent  election  as  Senator  from  Ohio, 
kept  him  in  the  public  eye  as  a  man  occupying  the 
very  highest  rank  among  those  entitled  to  be 
called  statesmen.  It  was  not  mere  chance  that 
brought  him  this  high  honor.  "We  must,"  says 
Mr.  Emerson,  "  reckon  success  a  constitutional 
trait.  If  Eric  is  in  robust  health  and  has  slept 
well  and  is  at  the  top  of  his  condition,  and  thirty 
years  old  at  his  departure  from  Greenland,  he  will 
steer  west  and  his  ships  will  reach  Newfoundland. 
But  take  Eric  out  and  put  in  a  stronger  and  bolder 
man  and  the  ships  will  sail  600,  1,000,  1,500  miles 
farther  and  reach  Labrador  and  New  England. 
There  is  no  chance  in  results." 

As  a  candidate,  Garfield  steadily  grew  in  popu 
lar  favor.  He  was  met  with  a  storm  of  detraction 
at  the  very  hour  of  his  nomination,  and  it 


nV  MEMORIAM.  349 

continued  with  increasing  volume  and  momentum! 
until  the  close  of  his  victorious  campaign. 

No  might  nor  greatness  in  mortality 
Can  censure  'scape;  backwounding  calumny 
The  whitest  virtue  strikes.     What  king  so  strong 
Can  tie  the  gall  up  in  the  slanderous  tongue  ? 

Under  it  all  he  was  calm  and  strong,  and  con 
fident  ;  never  lost  his  self-possession,  did  no  un 
wise  act,  spoke  no  hasty  or  ill-considered  word. 
Indeed,  nothing  in  his  whole  life  is  more  remark 
able  or  more  creditable  than  his  bearing  through 
those  five  full  months  of  vituperation — a  prolonged 
agony  of  trial  to  a  sensitive  man,  a  constant  and 
cruel  draft  upon  the  powers  of  moral  endurance. 
The  great  mass  of  these  unjust  imputations  passed 
unnoticed,  and  with  the  general  debris  of  the 
campaign  fell  into  oblivion.  But  in  a  few  instances 
the  iron  entered  his  soul  and  he  died  with  the 
injury  unforgotten,  if  not  unforgiven. 

One  aspect  of  Garfield's  candidacy  was  unprece 
dented.  Never  before,  in  the  history  of  partisan 
contests  in  this  country,  had  a  successful  Presi 
dential  candidate  spoken  freely  on  passing  events 
and  current  issues.  To  attempt  anything  of  the 
kind  seemed  novel,  rash,  and  even  desperate.' 
The  older  class  of  voters  recalled  the  unfortunate 
Alabama  letter,  in  which  Mr.  Clay  was  supposed 
to  have  signed  his  political  death-warrant.  They 
remembered  also  the-  hot-tempered  effusion  by 
which  General  Scott  lost  a  large  share  of  his 


350  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

popularity  before  his  nomination,  and  unfort 
unate  speeches  which  rapidly  consumed  the  re 
mainder.  The  younger  voters  had  seen  Mr. 
Greeley  in  a  series  of  vigorous  and  original  ad 
dresses,  preparing  the  pathway  for  his  own  de 
feat.  Unmindful  of  these  warnings,  unheeding 
the  advice  of  friends,  Garfield  spoke  to  large 
crowds  as  he  journeyed  to  and  from  New  York  in 
August,  to  a  great  multitude  in  that  city,  to  dele 
gations  and  deputations  of  every  kind  that  called 
at  Mentor  during  the  summer  and  autumn. 
With  innumerable  critics,  watchful  and  eager  to 
catch  a  phrase  that  might  be  turned  into  odium 
or  ridicule,  or  a  sentence  that  might  be  distorted 
to  his  own  or  his  party's  injury,  Garfield  did  not 
trip  or  halt  in  any  one  of  his  seventy  speeches. 
This  seems  all  the  more  remarkable  when  it  is  re 
membered  that  he  did  not  write  what  he  said,  and 
yet  spoke  with  such  logical  consecutiveness  of 
thought  and  such  admirable  precision  of  phrase 
as  to  defy  the  accident  of  misreport  and  the  malig 
nity  of  misrepresentation. 

In  the  beginning  of  his  Presidential  life  Gar- 
.ield's  experience  did  not  yield  him  pleasure  or 
satisfaction.  The  duties  that  engross  so  large  a 
portion  of  the  President's  time  were  distasteful  to 
him,  and  were  unfavorably  contrasted  with  his 
legislative  work.  "  I  have  been  dealing  all  these 
years  with  ideas,"  he  impatiently  exclaimed  one 
day,  "  and  here  I  am  dealing  only  with  persons. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  3  5  i 

I  have  been  heretofore  treating  of  the  fundamen 
tal  principles  of  government,  and  here  I  am  con- 
1  sidering  all  day  whether  A  or  B  shall  be  appointed 
to  this  or  that  office."  He  was  earnestly  seeking 
some  practical  way  of  correcting  the  evils  arising 
from  the  distribution  of  overgrown  and  unwieldy 
patronage — evils  always  appreciated  and  often 
discussed  by  him,  but  whose  magnitude  had  been 
more  deeply  impressed  upon  his  mind  since  his 
accession  to  the  Presidency.  Had  he  lived,  a 
comprehensive  improvement  in  the  mode  of  ap 
pointment  and  in  the  tenure  of  office  would  have 
been  proposed  by  him,  and  with  the  aid  of  Con 
gress  no  doubt  perfected. 

But,  while  many  of  the  Executive  duties  were 
not  grateful  to  him,  he  was  assiduous  and  con 
scientious  in  their  discharge.  From  the  very  out 
set  he  exhibited  administrative  talent  of  a  high 
order.  He  grasped  the  helm  of  office  with  the 
hand  of  a  master.  In  this  respect,  indeed,  he  con 
stantly  surprised  many  who  were  most  intimately 
associated  with  him  in  the  Government,  and  espe 
cially  those  who  had  feared  that  he  might  be  lack 
ing  in  the  executive  faculty.  His  disposition  of 
business  was  orderly  and  rapid.  His  power  of 
analysis  and  his  skill  in  classification  enabled  him 
to  despatch  a  vast  mass  of  detail  with  singular 
promptness  and  ease.  His  Cabinet  meetings 
were  admirably  conducted.  His  clear  presenta 
tion  of  official  subjects,  his  well-considered 


352  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

suggestion  of  topics  on  which  discussion  was  invited, 
his  quick  decision  when  all  had  been  heard,  com 
bined  to  show  a  thoroughness  of  mental  training 
as  rare  as  his  natural  ability  and  his  facile  adapta 
tion  to  a  new  and  enlarged  field  of  labor. 

With  perfect  comprehension  of  all  the  inheri 
tances  of  the  war,  with  a  cool  calculation  of  the  ob 
stacles  in  his  way,  impelled  always  by  a  generous 
enthusiasm,  Garfield  conceived  that  much  mioiit 

o 

be  done  by  his  Administration  toward  restoring 
harmony  between  the  different  sections  of  the 
Union.  He  was  anxious  to  go  South  and  speak 
to  the  people.  As  early  as  April  he  had  ineffect 
ually  endeavored  to  arrange  for  a  trip  to  Nash 
ville,  whither  he  had  been  cordially  invited,  and  he 
was  again  disappointed  a  few  weeks  later  to  find 
that  he  could  not  go  to  South  Carolina  to  attend 
the  centennial  celebration  of  the  victory  of  the 
Cowpens.  But  for  the  autumn  he  definitely 
counted  on  being  present  at  three  memorable 
assemblies  in  the  South — the  celebration  at  York- 
town,  the  opening  of  the  Cotton  Exposition  at 
Atlanta,  and  the  meeting  of  the  Army  of  the  Cum 
berland  at  Chattanooga.  He  was  already  turn 
ing  over  in  his  mind  his  address  for  each  occasion, 
and  the  three  taken  together,  he  said  to  a  friend, 
gave  him  the  exact  scope  and  verge  which  he 
needed.  At  Yorktown  he  would  have  before  him 
the  association  of  a  hundred  years  that  bound  the 
South  and  the  North  in  the  sacred  memory  of  a 


ftf  MEAIORIAM.  353 

common  danger  and  a  common  victory.  At 
Atlanta  he  would  present  the  material  interests 
and  the  industrial  development  which  appealed  to 
the  thrift  and  independence  of  every  household, 
and  which  should  unite  the  two  sections  by  the 
instinct  of  self-interest  and  self-defence.  At 
Chattanooga  he  would  revive  memories  of  the 
war  only  to  show  that  after  all  its  disaster  and  all 
its  suffering,  the  country  was  stronger  and  greater, 
the  Union  rendered  indissoluble,  and  the  future, 
through  the  agony  and  blood  of  one  generation, 
made  brighter  and  better  for  all. 

Garfield's  ambition  for  the  success  of  his  Ad 
ministration  was  high*  With  strong  caution  and 
conservatism  in  his  nature,  he  was  in  no  danger 
of  attempting  rash  experiments  or  of  resorting  to 
the  empiricism  of  statesmanship.  But  he  believed 
that  renewed  and  closer  attention  should  be  given 
to  questions  affecting  the  material  interests  and 
commercial  prospects  of  fifty  millions  of  people. 
He  believed  that  our  continental  relations,  exten 
sive  and  undeveloped  as  they  are,  involved 
responsibility,  and  could  be  cultivated  into  profit 
able  friendship  or  could  be  abandoned  to  harmful 
indifference  or  lasting  enmity.  He  believed  with 
equal  confidence  that  an  essential  forerunner  to  a 
new  era  of  National  progress  must  be  a  feeling  of 
contentment  in  every  section  of  the  Union,  and  a 
generous  belief  that  the  benefits  and  burdens  of 
government  would  be  common  to  all.  Himself  a 


354  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

conspicuous  illustration  of  what  ability  and  ambi 
tion  may  do  under  republican  institutions,  he  loved 
his  country  with  a  passion  of  patriotic  devotion, 
and  every  waking  thought  was  given  to  her 
advancement.  He  was  an  American  in  all  his 
aspirations,  and  he  looked  to  the  destiny  and 
influence  of  the  United  States  with  the  philosophic 
composure  of  Jefferson  and  the  demonstrative 
confidence  of  John  Adams. 

The  political  events  which  disturbed  the  Presi 
dent's  serenity  for  many  weeks  before  that  fateful 
day  in  July,  form  an  important  chapter  in  his 
career,  and,  in  his  own  judgment,  involved  ques 
tions  of  principle  and  of  right  which  are  vitally 
essential  to  the  constitutional  administration  of  the 
Federal  Government.  It  would  be  out  of  place 
here  and  now  to  speak  the  language  of  con 
troversy  ;  but  the  events  referred  to,  however  they 
may  continue  to  be  source  of  contention  with 
others,  have, become,  so  far  as  Garfield  is  con 
cerned,  as  much  a  matter  of  history  as  his  heroism 
at  Chickatnauga  or  his  illustrious  service  in  the 
House.  Detail  is  not  needful,  and  personal  an 
tagonism  shall  not  be  rekindled  by  any  word 
uttered  to-day.  The  motives  of  those  opposing 
him  are  not  to  be  here  adversely  interpreted  nor 
their  course  harshly  characterized.  But  of  the 
dead  President  this  is  to  be  said,  and  said  because 
his  own  speech  is  forever  silenced  and  he  can  be 
no  more  heard  except  through  the  fidelity  and  the 


IN  MEMORIAM.  ^$5 

love  of  surviving  friends  :  From  the  beginning  to 
the  end  of  the  controversy  he  so  much  deplored, 
the  President  was  never  for  one  moment  actuated 
by  any  motive  of  gain  to  himself  or  of  loss  to 
others.  Least  of  all  men  did  he  harbor  revenge, 
rarely  did  he  even  show  resentment,  and  malice 
was  not  in  his  nature.  He  was  congenially  em 
ployed  only  in  the  exchange  of  good  offices  and 
the  doing  of  kindly  deeds. 

There  was  not  an  hour,  from  the  beginning  of 
the  trouble  till  the  fatal  shot  entered  his  body, 
when  the  Presidemt  would  not  gladly,  for  the  sake 
of  restoring  harmony,  have  retraced  any  step  he 
had  taken  if  such  retracing  had  merely  involved 
consequences  personal  to  himself.  The  pride  of 
consistency,  or  any  supposed  sense  of  humiliation 
that  might  result  from  surrendering  his  position, 
had  not  a  feather's  weight  with  him.  No  man  was 
ever  less  subject  to  such  influences  from  within 
or  from  without.  But  after  most  anxious  de 
liberation  and  the  coolest  survey  of  all  the  circum 
stances,  he  solemnly  believed  that  the  true 
prerogatives  of  the  Executive  were  involved  in 
the  issue  which  had  been  raised,  and  that  he  would 
be  unfaithful  to  his  supreme  obligation  if  he  failed 
to  maintain,  in  all  their  vigor,  the  constitutional 
rights  and  dignities  of- his  great  office.  He  be 
lieved  this  in  all  the  convictions  of  conscience 
when  in  sound  and  vigorous  health,  and  he  believed 
it  in  his  suffering  and  prostration  in  the  last 


JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

conscious  thought  which  his  wearied  mind  bestowed 
on  the  transitory  struggles  of  hfe. 

More  than  this  need  not  be  said.  Less  than 
this  could  not  be  said.  Justice  to  the  dead,  thr 
highest  obligation  that  devolves  upon  the  living, 
demands  the  declaration  that  in  all  the  bearings 
of  the  subject,  actual  or  possible,  the  President 
was  content  in  his  mind,  justified  in  his  conscience, 
immovable  in  his  conclusions. 

The  religious  element  in  Garfield's  character  was 
deep  and  earnest.  In  his  early  youth  he  espoused 
the  faith  of  the  Disciples,  a  sect  of  that  great 
Baptist  Communion,  which  in  different  eccle 
siastical  establishments  is  so  numerous  and  so 
influential  throughout  all  parts  of  the  United 
States.  But  the  broadening  tendency  of  his 
mind  and  his  active  spirit  of  inquiry  were  early 
apparent  and  carried  him  beyond  the  dogmas  of 
sect  and  the  restraints  of  association.  In  select 
ing  a  college  in  which  to  continue  his  education 
he  rejected  Bethany,  though  presided  over  by 
Alexander  Campbell,  the  greatest  preacher  of  his 
church.  His  reasons  were  characteristic :  first, 
that  Bethany  leaned  too  heavily  toward  slavery ; 
and  second,  that  being  himself  a  Disciple  and  the 
son  of  Disciple  parents,  he  had  little  acquaintance 
with  the  people  of  other  beliefs  and  he  thought  it 
would  make  him  more  liberal,  quoting  his  own 
words,  both  in  his  religious  and  moral  views,  to  go 
into  a  new  circle  and  be  under  new  influences. 


IN  MEMORIA  M.  357 

The  liberal  tendency  which  he  anticipated  as 
the  result  of  wider  culture  was  fully  realized.  He 
was  emancipated  from  mere  sectarian  belief,  and 
with  eager  interest  pushed  his  investigations  in  the 
direction  of  modern  progressive  thought.  He 
followed  with  quickening  step  in  the  paths  of  ex 
ploration  and  speculation  so  fearlessly  trodden  by 
Darwin,  by  Huxley,  by  Tyndall,  and  by  other 
living  scientists  of  the  radical  and  advanced  type. 
His  own  church,  binding  its  disciples  by  no  for 
mulated  creed,  but  accepting  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  as  the  word  of  God  with  unbiased 
liberty  of  private  interpretation,  favored,  if  it  did 
not  stimulate,  the  spirit  of  investigation.  Its 
members  profess  with  sincerity,  and  profess  only 
to  be  of  one  mind  and  one  faith  with  those  who 
immediately  followed  the  Master,  and  who  were 
first  called  Christians  at  Antioch. 

But  however  high  Garfield  reasoned  of  "  fixed 
f  ite,  free  will,  foreknowledge  absolute,"  he  was 
never  separated  from  the  Church  of  the  Disciples 
in  his  affections  and  in  his  associations.  For  him 
it  held  the  ark  of  the  covenant.  To  him  it  was 
the  gate  of  heaven.  The  world  of  religious  be 
lief  is  full  of  solecisms  and  contradictions.  A 
philosophic  observer  declares  that  men  by  the 
•  thousand  will  die  in  defence  of  a  creed  whose 
doctrines  they  do  not  comprehend,  and  whose 
tenets  they  habitually  violate.  It  is  equally  true 
ih  it  men  by  the  thousand  will  cling  to  church 


358  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

f 

organizations  with  instinctive  and  wndying 
fidelity  wken  their  belief  in  maturer  years  is  radi 
cally  different  from  that  which  inspired  them  as 
neophytes. 

But  .after  this  range  of  speculation,  and  this 
latitude  of  cloubt,  Garfield  came  back  always  with 
freshness  and  delight  to  the  simpler  instincts  of  re 
ligious  faith,  which,  earliest  implanted,  longest 
survive.  Not  many  weeks  before  his  assassina 
tion,  walking  on  the  banks  of  the  Potomac  with  a 
friend,  and  conversing  on  those  topics  of  personal 
religion  concerning  whicn  noble  natures  have  an 
unconquerable  reserve,  he  said  that  he  found  the 
Lord's  Prayer  and  the  simple  petitions  learned  in 
infancy  infinitely  restful  to  him,  not  merely  in  their 
stated  repetition,  but  in  their  casual  and  frequent 
recall  as  he  went  about  the  daily  duties  of  life. 
Certain  texts  of  Scripture  had  a  very  strong  hold 
on  his  memory  and  his  heart.  He  heard,  while  in 
Edinburgh  some  years  ago,  an  eminent  Scotch 
preacher,  who  prefaced  his  sermon  with  reading 
the  eighth  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Rcvmans, 
which  book  had  been  the  subject  of  careful  study 
with  Garfield  during1  all  his  religious  life.  He  was 

o  o 

greatly  impressed  by  the  elocution  of  the  preacher 
and  declared  that  it  had  imparted  a  new  and 
deeper  meaning  to  the  majestic  utterances  of 
Saint  Paul.  He  referred  often  in  after  years  to 
that  memorable  service,  and  dwelt  with  exaltation 
of  feeling  upon  the  radiant  promise  and  the 


IN  MEMO RI AM.  359 

assured  hope  with  which  the  great  apostle  of  the 
Gentiles  was  "persuaded  that  neither  death,  nor 
life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor 
things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor  height,  nor 
depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be  able  to 
separate  us  from  the  love  of  God,  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord." 

The  crowning  characteristic  of  General    Gar- 

o 

field's  religious  opinions,  as,  indeed,  of  all  his 
opinions,  was  his  liberality.  In  all  things  he  had 
charity.  Tolerance  was  of  his  nature.  He  re 
spected  in  others  the  qualities  which  he  possessed 
himself — sincerity  of  conviction  and  frankness  of 
expression.  With  him  t]ie  inquiry  was  not  so 
much  what  a  man  believes,  but  does  he  believe  it? 
The  lines  of  kis  friendship  and  his  confidence  en 
circled  men  of  every  creed  and  men  of  no  creed, 
and  to  the  end  of  his  life,  on  his  ever-lengthening 
list  of  friends,  were  to  be  found  the  names  of  a 
pious  Catholic  priest  and  of  an  honest-minded  and 
generous-hearted  free-thinker. 

On  the  morning  of  Saturday,  July  2d,  the  Pres 
ident  was  a  contented  and  happy  man — not  in  an 
ordinary  degree,  but  joyfully,  almost  boyishly, 
happy.  On  his  way  to  the  railroad  station,  to 
which  he  drove  slowly,  in  conscious  enjoyment  of 
the  beautiful  morning,  with  an  unwonted  sense  of 
leisure  and  a  keen  anticipation  of  pleasure,  his 
talk  was  all  in  the  grateful  and  gratulatory  vein. 
He  fek  that  after  four  months  of  trial  his 


360  JAMES   G.   BLAIA'E. 

Administration  was  strong  in  its  grasp  of  affairs, 
strong  in  popular  favor,  and  destined  to  grow 
stronger  ;  that  grave  difficulties  confronting  him  at 
his  inauguration  had  been  safely  passed ;  that 
trouble  lay  behind  him,  and  not  before  him  ;  that  he 
was  soon  to  meet  the  wife  whom  he  loved,  now  re 
covering  from  an  illness  which  had  but  lately  dis 
quieted,  and  at  times  almost  unnerved,  him  ;  that 
he  was  going  to  his  Alma  Mater  to  renew  the 
most  cherished  associations  of  his  young  man- 
kood,  and  to  exchange  greetings  with  those  whose 
deepening  interest  had  followed  every  step  of  his 
upward  progress,  from  the  day  he  entered  upon 
his  college  course  until  he  had  attained  the  lof 
tiest  elevation  in  the  gift  of  his  countrymen. 

Surely  if  happiness  can  ever  come  from  the 
honors  or  triumphs  of  this  world,  on  that  quiet 
July  morning  James  A.  Garfield  may  well  have 
been  a  happy  man.  No  foreboding  of  evil 
haunted  him  ;  no  slightest  premonition  of  danger 
clouded  his  sky.  His  terrible  fate  was  upon  him 
in  an  instant.  One  moment  he  stood  erect,  strong, 
confident  in  the  years  stretching  out  peacefully 
before  him.  The  next  he  lay  wounded,  bleeding, 
helpless,  doomed  to  weary  weeks  of  torture,  to 
silence,  and  the  grave. 

Great  in  life,  he  was  surpassingly  great  in  death. 
For  no  cause,  in  the  very  frenzy  of  wantonness 
and  wickedness,  by  the  red  hand  of  murder,  he 
was  thrust  from  the  full  tide  of  this  world's  interest, 


GROVER  CLEVELAND. 


IN  MEMORIAM.  363 

from  its  hopes,  its  aspirations,  its  victories, 
into  the  visible  presence  of  death — and  he  did 
not  quail.  Not  alone  for  the  one  short  moment 
in  which,  stunned  and  dazed,  he  could  give  up 
life,  hardly  aware  of  its  relinquishment,  but 
through  days  of  deadly  languor,  through  weeks 
of  agony  that  was  not  less  agony  because  silently 
borne,  with  clear  sight  and  calm  courage,  he 
looked  into  his  open  grave.  What  blight  and 
ruin  met  his  anguished  eyes,  whose  lips  may  tell 
— what  brilliant  broken  plans,  what  baffled  high 
ambitions,  what  sundering  of  strong,  warm 
manhood's  friendships,  what  bitter  rending  of 
sweet  household  ties  !  Behind  him  a  proud,  ex 
pectant  Nation,  a  great  host  of  sustaining  friends, 
a  cherished  and  happy  mother,  wearing  the  full, 
rich  honors  of  her  early  toils  and  tears  ;  the  wife 
of  his  youth,  whose  whole  life  lay  in  his  ;  the  lit 
tle  boys  not^yet  emerged  from  childhood's  day  of 
frolic  ;  the  fair  young  daughter  ;  the  sturdy  sons 
just  springing  into  closest  companionship,  claim 
ing  every  day  and  every  day  rewarding  a  father's 
love  and  care  ;  and  in  his  heart  the  eager,  re 
joicing  power  to  meet  all  demand.  Before  him, 
desolation  and  great  darkness !  And  his  soul 
was  not  shaken.  His  countrymen  were  thrilled 
with  instant,  profound  and  universal  sympathy. 
Masterful  in  his  mortal  weakness,  he  became  the 
centre  of  a  Nation's  love,  enshrined  in  the  prayers 
of  a  world.  But  all  the  love  and  all  the  sympathy 


21 


36 1  JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

could  not  share  with  him  his  suffering.  He  trod 
the  wine-press  alone.  With  unfaltering  front  he 
faced  death.  With  unfailing  tenderness  he  took 
leave  of  life.  Above  the  demoniac  hiss  of  the 
assassin's  bullet  he  heard  the  voice  of  God.  With 
simple  resignation  he  bowed  to  the  Divine  decree. 
As  the  end  drew  near,  his  early  craving  for  the 
sea  returned.  The  stately  mansion  of  power  had 
been  to  him  the  wearisome  hospital  of  pain,  and 
he  begged  to  be  taken  from  its  prison  walls,  from 
its  oppressive,  stifling  air,  from  its  homelessness 
and  hopelessness.  Gently,  silently,  the  love  of 
a  great  people  bore  the  pale  sufferer  to  the 
longed-for  healing  of  the  sea,  to  live  or  to  die,  as 
God  should  will,  within  sight  of  its  heaving  bil 
lows,  within  sound  of  its  manifold  voices.  With 
wan,  fevered  face  tenderly  lifted  to  the  cooling 
breeze,  he  looked  out  wistfully  upon  the  ocean's 
changing  wonders  ;  on  its  fair  sails,  whitening  in 
the  morning  light ;  on  its  restless  waves,  rolling 
shoreward  to  break  and  die  beneath  the  noonday 
sun  ;  on  the  red  clouds  of  evening,  arching  low 
to  the  horizon  ;  on  the  serene  and  shining  path 
way  of  the  stars.  Let  us  think  that  his  dying 
eyes  read  a  mystic  meaning  which  only  the  rapt 
and  parting  soul  may  know.  Let  us  believe  that 
in  the  silence  of  the  receding  world  he  heard  the 
great  waves  breaking  on  a  further  shore,  and  felt 
already  upon  his  wasted  brow  the  breath  of  the 
eternal  morning. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

THE  CONVENTION  OF   1884. 

Mr.  Elaine  a  Candidate  for  the  Third  Time — Meeting  of  the  .Convention — 
The  First  Skirmish — The  Declaration  of  Principles — The  Various 
Candidates  Placed  in  Nomination — Speech  of  Judge  West  in  Behalf 
of  Mr.  Elaine — Scenes  of  Unparalleled  Enthusiasm — Steadfast  Sup 
port  for  President  Arthur — Mr.  Elaine  Nominated  on  the  Fourth 
Ballot — Address  of  the  Committee  Informing  Him  of  the  Result — 
Mr.  Elaine's  Reply. 

For  a  third  time,  in  1884,  Mr.  Elaine's  name 
was  brought  forward  by  his  friends  in  a  National 
Republican  Convention  as  a  Presidential  candidate. 
His  support  was  now  stronger  than  ever  before, 
and  the  opposition  to  him  was  less  united  than  in 
1880.  President  Arthur,  who  had  been  elected 
Vice-President  in  1880,  and  had  succeeded  to  the 
Presidency  on  the  assassination  of  Garfield,  was 
strongly  favored  by*  a  large  section  of  the  party, 
although  he  had  studiously  refrained  from  putting 
himself  forward  in  any  manner  as  a  candidate. 
The  nomination  of  Senator  Sherman  was  strongly 
urged  by  many  on  account  of  his  long  and  dis 
tinguished  public  services.  Senator  Edmunds, 
Senator  Logan,  Senator  Harrison,  Senator  Haw- 
ley,  Judge  Gresham,  General  Grant,  and  the 
Hon.  Robert  T.  Lincoln  also  had  their  sup 
porters.  Mr.  Elaine  was,  however,  indisputably 

365 


JAM.ES    G.    JILAINE. 

the  leading  candidate.  He  had  personally  made 
no  effort  towards  securing  the  nomination,  and 
had  personally  little  expectation  of  success.  But 
his  friends  were  more  numerous,  more  .united, 
more  determined,  and  more  enthusiastic  than  ever 
before.  His  defeats  in  1876  and  1880  had  only 
increased  their  resolution  to  secure  for  him  the 
coveted  prize. 

The  Convention  met  at  Chicago  on  Tuesday, 
June  3d,  in  the  vast  Exposition  Building.  On  one 
hand  the  cry  was  for  Blaine  ;  on  the  other,  anything 
to  beat  Blaine.  The  Convention  was  called  to  order 
by  Senator  Sabin,  of  Minnesota,  and  the  opening 
of  the  battle  began  a  few  minutes  later  when  he 
proposed  the  Hon.  Powell  Clayton,  of  Arkansas, 
for  Temporary  Chairman  of  the  Convention.  Mr. 
Clayton  was  an  earnest  supporter  of  Mr.  Blaine, 
and  was  regarded  as  the  Blaine  candidate  for  the 
chairmanship.  Immediately,  therefore,  Mr.  Henry 
Cabot  Lodge,  of  Massachusetts,  nominated  as  an 
opposition  candidate,  the  Hon.  John  R.  Lynch,  of 
Mississippi.  Mr.  Lynch  was  an  African  gentle 
man,  who  had  served  with  distinction  in  Congress 
and  was  eminently  well  fitted  for  the  position. 
The  supporters  of  President  Arthur  and  Senator 
Edmunds  voted  for  him  and  succeeded  in  electing 
him  as  Temporary  Chairman,  and  the  supporters  of 
Mr.  Blaine  thus  received  a  check.  The  next  day's 
session  was  called  to  order  by  Mr.  Lynch,  and 
presently  ex-Senator  John  B.  Henderson,  of 


THE  CONVENTION  OF  1884.  -        367 

Missouri,  was  chosen  Permanent  Chairman  of  the 
Convention.  The  following  declaration  of  prin 
ciples,  or  Platform,  was  then  adopted  : 

"The  Republicans  of  the  United  States,  in 
National  Convention  assembled,  renew  their  alle 
giance  to  the  principles  upon  which  they  have 
triumphed  in  six  successive  Presidential  elections  ; 
and  congratulate  the  American  people  on  the 
attainment  of  so  many  results  in  legislation  and 
administration,  by  which  the  Republican  party 
has,  after  saving  the  Union,  done  so  much  to 
render  its  institutions  just,  equal  and  beneficent, 
the  safeguard  of  liberty  and  the  embodiment 
of  the  best  thought  and  highest  purposes  of  our 
citizens. 

''The  Republican  party  has  gained  its  strength 
by  quick  and  faithful  response  to  the  demand  of 
the  people  for  the  freedom  and  equality  of  all 
men  ;  for  a  united  nation,  assuring  the  rights  of 
all  citizens  ;  for  the  elevation  of  labor ;  for  an 
honest  currency  ;  for  purity  in  legislation,  and  for 
integrity  and  accountability  in  all  departments  of 
the  government,  and  it  accepts  anew  the  duty  of 
leading  in  the  work  of  progress  and  reform. 

"We  lament  the  death  of  President  Garfield, 
whose  sound  statesmanship,  long  conspicuous  in 
Congress,  gave  promise  of  a  strong  and  success 
ful  administration  ;  a  promise  fully  realized  during 
the  short  period  of  his  office  as  President  of  the 
United  States.  His  distinguished  services  in  war 


368  JAMKS    C.   J1LAINE. 

and  peace  have  endeared  him  to  the  hearts  of  the 
American  people. 

"In  the  administration  of  President  Arthur,  we 
recognize  a  wise,  conservative  and  patriotic  policy, 
under  which  the  country  has  been  blessed  with 
remarkable  prosperity  ;  and  we  believe  his  emi 
nent  services  are  entitled  to  and  will  receive  the 
hearty  approval  of  every  citizen. 

"It  is  the  first  duty  of  a  good  government  to 
protect  the  rights  and  promote  the  interests  of  its 
own  people. 

"The  largest  diversity  of  industry  is  most  pro 
ductive  of  general  prosperity,  and  of  the  comfort 
and  independence  of  the  people. 

"We,  therefore,  demand  that  the  imposition  of 
duties  on  foreign  imports  shall  be  made,  not  '  for 
revenue  only,'  but  that  in  raising  the  requisite 
revenues  for  the  government,  such  duties  shall  be 
so  levied  as  to  afford  security  to  our  diversified 
industries  and  protection  to  the  rights  and  wages 
of  the  laborer ;  to  the  end  that  active  and  intelli 
gent  labor,  as  well  as  capital,  may  have  its  just 
reward,  and  the  laboring  man  his  full  share  in  the 
national  prosperity. 

"Against  the  so-called  economic  system  of  the 
Democratic  party,  which  would  degrade  our  labor  to 
the  foreign  standard,  we  enter  our  earnest  protest. 

"The  Democratic  party  has  failed  completely 
to  relieve  the  people  of  the  burden  of  unnecessary 
taxation  by  a  wise  reduction  of  the  surplus. 


THE  CONVENTION  OF  1884.  369 

"  The  Republican  party  pledges  itself  to  correct 
the  inequalities  of  the  tariff,  and  to  reduce  the 
surplus,  not  by  the  vicious  and  indiscriminate  pro 
cess  of  horizontal  reduction,  but  by  such  methods 
as  will  relieve  the  taxpayer  without  injuring-  the 
labor  or  the  great  productive  interests  of  the 
country. 

"We  recognize  the  importance  of  sheep  hus 
bandry  in  the  United  States,  the  serious  depres 
sion  which  it  is  now  experiencing,  and  the  clanger 
threatening  its  future  prosperity  ;  and  we,  there 
fore,  respect  the  demands  of  the  representatives 
of  this  important  agricultural  interest  for  a  re-ad 
justment  of  duties  upon  foreign  wool,  in  order 
that  such  industry  shall  have  full  and  adequate 
protection. 

"We  have  always  recommended  the  best 
money  known  to  the  civilized  world  ;  and  we  urge 
that  efforts  should  be  made  to  unite  all  commercial 
nations  in  the  establishment  of  an  international 
standard  which  shall  fix  for  all  the  relative  value 
of  gold  and  silver  coinage. 

"The  regulation  of  commerce  with  foreign 
nations  and  between  the  States,  is  one  of  the 
most  important  prerogatives  of  the  general  gov 
ernment  ;  and  the  Republican  party  distinctly 
announces  its  purpose  to  support  such  legislation 
as  will  fully  and  efficiently  carry  out  the  constitu 
tional  power  of  Congress  over  interstate  com 
merce. 


JAMES   G.   &LA1NE. 

"The  principle  of  public  regulation  of  railway 
corporations  is  a  wise  and  salutary  one  for  the 
protection  of  all  classes  of  the  people  ;  and  we 
favor  legislation  that  shall  prevent  unjust  dis 
crimination  and  excessive  charges  for  transporta 
tion,  and  that  shall  secure  to  the  people,  and  the 
railways  alike,  the  fair  and  equal  protection  of  the 
laws. 

"We  favor  the  establishment  of  a  national 
bureau  of  labor ;  the  enforcement  of  the  eight- 
hour  law  ;  a  wise  and  judicious  system  of  general 
education  by  adequate  appropriation  from  the 
national  revenues,  wherever  the  same  is  needed. 
We  believe  that  everywhere  the  protection  to  a 
citizen  of  American  birth  must  be  secured  to 
citizens  by  American  adoption  ;  and  we  favor  the 
settlement  of  national  differences  by  international 
arbitration. 

"  The  Republican  party,  having  its  birth  in  a 
hatred  of  slave  labor  and  a  desire  that  all  men  may 
be  truly  free  and  equal,  is  unalterably  opposed  to 
placing  our  workingmen  in  competition  with  any 
form  of  servile  labor,  whether  at  home  or  abroad. 
In  this  spirit,  we  denounce  the  importation  of 
contract  labor,  whether  from  Europe  or  Asia,  as 
an  offence  against  the  spirit  of  American  institu 
tions  ;  and  we  pledge  ourselves  to  sustain  the 
present  law  restricting  Chinese  immigration,  and 
to  provide  such  further  legislation  as  is  necessary 
to  carry  out  its  purposes. 


THE  CONVENTION  OF  1884.  37  l 

"Reform  of  the  civil  service,  auspiciously  begun 
under  Republican  administration,  should  be  com 
pleted  by  the  further  extension  of  the  reform 
system  already  established  by  law,  to  all  the 
grades  of  the  service  to  which  it  is  applicable. 
The  spirit  and  purpose  of  reform  should  be 
observed  in  all  executive  appointments  ;  and  all 
laws  at  variance  with  the  objects  of  existing 
reform  legislation  should  be  repealed,  to  the 
end  that  the  dangers  to  free  institutions,  which 
lurk  in  the  power  of  official  patronage,  may  be 
wisely  and  effectively  avoided. 

"  The  public  lands  are  a  heritage  to  the  people 
of  the  United  States,  and  should  be  reserved  as 
for  as  possible  for  small  holdings  by  actual  settlers. 
We  are  opposed  to  the  acquisition  of  large  tracts 
of  these  lands  by  corporations  or  individuals, 
especially  where  such  holdings  are  in  the  hands 
of  non-resident  aliens.  And  we  will  endeavor  to 
obtain  such  legislation  as  will  tend  to  correct  this 
evil.  We  demand  of  Congress  the  speedy  for 
feiture  of  all  land  grants  which  have  lapsed  by 
reason  of  non-compliance  with  acts  of  incorpora 
tion,  in  all  cases  where  there  has  been  no  attempt 
in  good  faith  to  perform  the  conditions  of  such 
grants. 

uThe  grateful  thanks  of  the  American  people 
are  due  to  the  Union  soldiers  and  sailors  of  the 
late  war;  and  the  Republican  party  stands  pledged 
to  suitable  pensions  for  all  who  were  disabled, 


372  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

and  for  the  widows  and  orphans  of  those  who 
died  in  the  war.  The  Republican  party  also 
pledges  itself  to  the  repeal  of  the  limitation  con 
tained  in  the  arrears  act  of  1879.  So  that  all  invalid 
soldiers  shall  share  alike,  and  their  pensions  begin 
with  the  date  of  disability,  or  discharge,  and  not 
with  the  date  of  application. 

"The  Republican  party  favors  a  policy  which 
shall  keep  us  from  entangling  alliances  with  for 
eign  nations,  and  which  gives  us  the  right  to  ex 
pect  that  foreign  nations  shall  refrain  from  med 
dling  in  American  affairs  ;  a  policy  which  seeks 
peace  and  trade  with  all  powers,  but  especially 
with  those  of  the  Western  Hemisphere. 

'•'We  demand  the  restoration  of  our  navy  to 
its  old-time  strength  and  efficiency,  that  it  may, 
in  any  sea,  protect  the  rights  of  American  citizens 
and  the  interests  of  American  commerce ;  and 
we  call  upon  Congress  to  remove  the  burdens 
under  which  American  shipping  has  been  de 
pressed,  so  that  it  may  again  be  true  that  we  have 
a  commerce  which  leaves  no  sea  unexplored,  and 
a  navy  which  takes  no  law  from  superior  force. 

"  Resolved,  That  appointments  by  the  Presi 
dent  to  offices  in  the  Territories  should  be  made 
from  the  bona-fide  citizens  and  residents  of  the 
Territories  wherein  they  are  to  serve. 

"  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  duty  of  Congress  to 
enact  such  laws  as  shall  promptly  and  effectually 
suppress  the  system  of  polygamy  within  our 


THE  CONVENTION  OF  1884.  3/3 

Territories;  and  divorce  the  political  from  the  eccle 
siastical  power  of  the  so-called  Mormon  church  ; 
and  that  the  laws  so  enacted  should  be  rigidly 
enforced  by  the  civil  authorities,  if  possible,  and 
by  the  military,  if  need  be. 

1  'The  people  of  the  United  States,  in  their 
organized  capacity,  constitute  a  Nation,  and  not 
a  mere  confederacy  of  States ;  the  National 
Government  is  supreme  within  the  sphere  of 
its  national  duties  ;  but  the  States  have  reserved 
rights  which  should  be  faithfully  maintained ; 
each  should  be  guarded  with  jealous  care,  so 
that  the  harmony  of  our  system  of  govern 
ment  may  be  preserved  and  the  Union  kept 
inviolate. 

"The  perpetuity  of  our  institutions  rests  upon 
the  maintenance  of  a  free  ballot,  an  honest  count, 
and  correct  returns.  We  denounce  the  fraud 
and  violence  practised  by  the  Democracy  in 
Southern  States,  by  which  the  will  of  the  voter  is 
defeated,  as  dangerous  to  the  preservation  of  free 
institutions  ;  and  we  solemnly  arraign  the  Demo 
cratic  party  as  being  the  guilty  recipient  of  fruits 
of  such  fraud  and  violence. 

"We  extend  the  Republicans  of  the  South,  re 
gardless  of  their  former  party  affiliations,  our 
cordial  sympathy;  and  pledge  to  them  our  most 
earnest  efforts  to  promote  the  passage  of  such 
legislation  as  will  secure  to  every  citizen,  of 
whatever  race  and  color,  the  full  and  complete 


374  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

recognition,   possession   and  exercise  of  all  civil 
and  political  rights. 

"  Respectfully  submitted, 

"WM.  McKINLEY, 

"  Chairman. 
'"WM.  WALTER  PHELPS,  Secretary." 

The  real  contest  of  the  Convention  now  came 
on,  in  the  choice  of  a  candidate  for  the  head  of 
the  ticket.  The  nominating  speeches  were  made 
on  Friday,  June  5th.  The  roll  of  States  was 
called  in  alphabetical  order.  When  Connecticut 
was  named  the  Hon.  Augustus  Brandegee  nom 
inated  General  Joseph  R.  Hawley.  When  Illinois 
was  reached  Senator  Cullom  presented  the  name 
of  General  John  A.  Logan.  Indiana,  Iowa,  Kan 
sas,  Ke.ntucky  and  Louisiana  were  called  without 
response.  Then  the  Secretary  called  the  State 
of  Maine.  On  the  instant,  says  an  eye-witness, 
there  was  a  sudden  explosion,  and  in  a  twinkling 
the  Convention  was  a  scene  of  the  wildest  enthu 
siasm  and  excitement.  Whole  delegations 
sprang  upon  their  chairs  and  led  the  cheering, 
which  spread  to  the  stage  and  galleries  and  deep 
ened  into  a  roar  like  the  voice  of  Niagara.  The 
walls  of  the  building  literally  trembled  and  the 
gas-lights  flickered  and  flared  as  if  in  a  hurricane. 
The  flags  and  other  decorations  were  torn  Irom 
the  walls  and  the  gallery  front  and  waved  madly 
in  the  air,  with  hats,  umbrellas,  handkerchiefs  and 


THE  CONVENTION  OF  1884,  375 

ev^ry  other  object  within  reach.  Dignified  and 
venerable  men  stood  upon  their  chairs,  stripped 
their  coats  from  their  backs  and  waved  them  in 
the  air  like  madmen.  For  fifteen  minutes  twelve 
thousand  throats  gave  forth  the  chorus  of  pande 
monium,  and  quiet  was  only  restored  when  the 
multitude  was  literally  exhausted  by  its  efforts  to 
do.  honor  to  the  magic  name  of  Elaine. 

Then  Judge  West,  of  Ohio,  a  blind  man,  but  a 
most  eloquent  speaker,  was  led  forward  and 
spoke  as  follows  : 

"As  a  delegate  in  the  Chicago  Convention  of 
1860.  the  proudest  service  of  my  life  was  per 
formed  by  voting  for  the  nomination  of  that  in 
spired  emancipator,  the  first  Republican  President 
of  the  United  States.  (Applause.)  Four  and 
twenty  years  of  the  grandest  history  of  recorded 
times  has  distinguished  the  ascendency  of  the 
Republican  party.  The  skies  have  lowered  and 
reverses  have  threatened,  but  our  flag  is  still 
there,  waving  above  the  mansion  of  the  Presi 
dency,  not  a  stain  on  its  folds,  not  a  cloud  on  its 
glory.  Whether  it  shall  maintain  that  grand 
ascendency  depends  upon  the  action  of  this  coun 
cil.  With  bated  breath,  a  nation  awaits  the  result. 
On  it  are  fixed  the  eyes  of  twenty  millions  of  Re 
publican  freemen  in  the  North.  On  it,  or  to  it, 
rather,  are  stretched  forth  the  imploring  hands 
of  ten  millions  of  political  bondmen  of  the  South 
(applause),  while  above,  from  the  portals  of  light, 


376  JAMES   G.  BLAINE. 

is  looking  down  the  immortal  spirit  of  the  immor 
tal  martyr  who  first  bore  it  to  victory,  bidding  to 
us  Hail  and  God-speed.  (Applause.)  Six  times 
in  six  campaigns  has  that  banner  triumphed — that 
symbol  of  union,  freedom,  humanity  and  progress 
— some  time  borne  by  that  silent  man  of  destiny, 
the  Wellington  of  American  arms  (wild  applause), 
last  by  him  at  whose  untimely  taking  off  a  nation 
swelled  the  funeral  cries  and  wept  above  great 
Garfield's  grave.  (Cheers  and  applause.)  Shall 
that  banner  triumph  again  ? 

"  Commit  it  to  the  bearing  of  that  chief  (a  voice, 
'James  G.  Elaine,  of  Maine' — cheers) — -commit 
it  to  the  bearing  of  that  chief,  the  inspiration  of 
whose  illustrious  character  and  great  name  will 
fire  the  hearts  of  our  young  men,  stir  the  blood 
of  our  manhood,  and  rekindle  the  fervor  of  the 
veterans,  and  the  closing  of  the  seventh  campaign 
will  see  that  holy  ensign  spanning  the  sky  like  a 
bow  of  promise.  (Cheers.)  Political  conditions 
are  chariged  since  the  accession  of  the  Republican 
party  to  power.  The  mighty  issues  of  freedom 
and  bleeding  humanity  which  convulsed  the  con 
tinent  and  aroused  the  Republic,  rallied,  united 
and  inspired  the  forces  of  patriotism  and  the  forces 
of  humanity  in  one  consolidated  phalanx,  have 
ceased  their  contentions.  The  subordinate  issues 
resulting  therefrom  are  settled  and  buried  away 
with  the  dead  issues  of  the  past.  The  arms  of 
the  Solid  South  are  against  us.  Not  an  electoral 


THE  CONVENTION  OF  1884.  377 

gain  can  be  expected  from  that  section.  If  triumph 
come,  the  Republican  States  of  the  North  must 
furnish  the  conquering  battalions  from  the  farm, 
the  anvil,  and  the  loom;  from  the  mines,  the  work 
shop,  and  the  desk  ;  from  the  hut  of  the  trapper 
on  the  snowy  Sierras  ;  from  the  hut  of  the  fisher 
man  on  the  banks  of  the  Hudson.  The  Repub 
lican  States  must  furnish  these  conquering  battal 
ions  if  triumph  come. 

"  Does  not  sound  political  wisdom  dictate  and 
demand  that  a  leader  shall  be  given  to  them  whom 
our  people  will  follow,  not  as  conscripts  advancing 
by  funereal  marches  to  certain  defeat,  but  a  grand 
civic  hero,  whom  the  souls  of  the  people  desire, 
and  whom  they  will  follow  with  all  the  enthusiasm 
of  volunteers,  as  they  sweep  on  and  onward  to 
certain  victory  ?  (Cheers.)  A  representative  of 
American  manhood  (applause),  a  representative 
of  'chat  living  Republicanism  that  demands  the 
amplest  industrial  protection  and  opportunity 
whereby  labor  shall  be  enabled  to  earn  and  eat 
the  bread  of  independent  employment,  relieved 
of  mendicant  competition  with  pauper  Europe  or 
pagan  China  ?  (Loud  applause.)  In  this  conten 
tion  offerees,  to  whose  candidate  shall  be  entrusted 
our  battle-flag?  Citizens,  I  am  not  here  to  do  it, 
and  may  my  tongue  cleave  to  the  roof  of  my 
mouth  if  I  do  abate  one  tittle  from  the  just  fame, 
integrity  and  public  honor  of  Chester  A.  Arthur, 
our  President.  (Applause.)  I  abate  not  one 


07  8  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

tittle  from  the  just  fame  and  public  integrity  of 
George  F.  Edmunds  (applause),  of  Joseph  R. 
Hawley  (applause),  of  John  Sherman  (applause), 
of  that  grand  old  black  eagle  of  Illinois.  (Here 
the  speaker  was  interrupted  several  moments  by 
prolonged  applause.)  And  I  am  proud  to  know 
that  these  distinguished  Senators  whom  I  have 

o 

named,  have  borne  like  testimony  to  the  public 
life,  the  public  character,  and  the  public  integrity 
of  him  whose  confirmation  brought  him  to  the 
highest  office — second  in  dignity  to  the  office  of 
the  President  only  himself — the  first  premiership 
in  the  administration  of  James  A.  Garfield. 
(Applause.)  A  man  for  whom  the  Senators  and 
rivals  will  vote,  the  Secretary  of  State  of  the 
United  States  is  good  enough  for  a  plain  flesh 
and  blood  God's  people  to  vote  for  President. 
(Loud  applause.) 

"Who  shall  be  our  candidate?  Not  the  rep 
resentative  of  a  particular  interest  of  a  particular 
class.  Send  the  great  proclamation  to  the  country 
labelled  'The  Doctor's  Candidate,'  'The 
Lawyer's  Candidate/  'The  Wall  Street  Candi 
date,'  and  the  hand  of  resurrection  would  not 
fathom  his  November  grave.  (Applause.) 

"  Gentlemen,  lie  must  be  a  representative  of 
that  Republicanism  that  demands  the  absolute 
political,  as  well  as  personal,  emancipation  and 
enfranchisement  of  mankind — a  representative  of 
that  Republicanism  which  recognizes  the  stamp  of 


THOS.  A.   HENDRICKS. 


THE  CONVENTION  OF  jSSj.  381 

American  citizenship  as  the  passport  to  every 
right,  privilege  and  consideration  at  home  or 
abroad,  whether  under  the  sky  of  Bismarck,  under 
the  Palmetto,  under  the  Pelican,  or  on  the  banks 
of  the  Mohawk — that  Republicanism  that  regards 
with  dissatisfaction  a  despotism  which,  under  the 
' sic  semper  tyrannis*  of  the  Old  Dominion, 
emulates,  by  slaughter,  popular  majorities  in  the 
name  of  Democracy — a  Republicanism  as  em 
bodied  and  stated  in  the  platform  of  principles 
this  day  adopted  by  your  Convention. 

"  Gendemen,  such  a  representative  Republican 
is  James  G.  Elaine,  of  Maine.  (Applause,  con 
tinuing  twenty  minutes.)  If  nominated  to-night 
his  campaign  would  commence  to-morrow  and 
continue  until  victory  is  assured.  (Cheers.) 
There  would  be  no  powder  burned  to  fire  into  the 
backs  of  his  leaders.  It  would  only  be  exploded 
to  illuminate  the  inauguration.  The  brazen 
throats  of  the  cannon  in  yonder  square,  waiting  to 
herald  the  result  of  the  Convention,  would  not 
have  time  to  cool  before  his  name  would  be 
caught  up  on  ten  thousand  tongues  of  electric 
flame.  It  would  sweep  down  from  the  old  Pine 
Tree  State.  It  would  go  over  the  hills  and  val 
leys  of  New  England. 

"  Three  millions  of  Republicans  believe  that  that 
man  who,  from  the  baptism  of  blood  on  the  plains 
of  Kansas  to  the  fall  of  the  immortal  Garfield,  in 
all  that  struggle  of  humanity  and  progress, 

22 


382  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

wherever  humanity  desired  succor,  wherever  love 
for  freedom  called  for  protection,  wherever  the 
country  called  for  a  defender,  wherever  blows  fell 
thickest  and  fastest,  there  in  the  forefront  of  the 
battle  were  seen  to  wave  the  white  plumes  of  James 
G.  Elaine,  our  Henry  of  Navarre.  Nominate  him, 
and  the  shouts  of  a  September  victory  in  Maine 
will  be  re-echoed  back  by  the  thunders  of  the 
October  victory  in  Ohio.  Nominate  him,  and  the 
campfires  and  beacon  lights  will  illuminate  the 
continent  from  the  Golden  Gate  to  Cleopatra's 
needle.  Nominate  him,  and  the  millions  who  are 
now  in  waiting  will  rally  to  swell  the  column  of 
victory  that  is  sweeping  on. 

"  If  you  do  so,  he  will  give  you  a  glorious  vic 
tory  in  November  next,  and  when  he  shall  have 
taken  his  position  as  President  of  the  great  Re 
public,  you  maybe  sure  you  will  have  an  adminis 
tration  in  the  interest  of  commerce,  in  the  interest 
of  labor,  in  the  interest  of  finance,  in  the  interest 
of  peace  at  home  and  peace  abroad,  and  in  the  in 
terest  of  the  prosperity  of  this  great  people." 
(Long  applause.) 

At  the  end  of  almost  every  sentence  in  this 
speech  the  whole  Convention  burst  into  enthu 
siastic  applause.  And  at  the  first  mention  of  the 
name  of  Elaine  there  was  a  repetition  of  the  scene 
that  had  preceded  the  speech.  For  fifteen  or 
twenty  minutes  Judge  West  was  compelled  to  re 
main  silent  while  the  Convention  shouted  and 


THE  CONVENTION  OF  1884. 

stamped  and  waved  itself  into  a  state  of  utter  ex 
haustion.  The  nomination  was  seconded  by 
Governor  Davis  of  Minnesota,  by  the  Hon.  Wil 
liam  C.  Goodloe  of  Kentucky,  by  the  Hon. 
Thomas  C.  Platt  of  New  York,  and  by  the  Hon. 
Galusha  A.  Grow  of  Pennsylvania,  amid  a  con 
tinuous  accompaniment  of  cheering  and  applause 
of  the  most  enthusiastic  character. 

Presently  the  State  of  New  York  was  called 
and  then  there  was  an  outburst  of  enthusiasm  simi 
lar  to  that  which  had  greeted  the  State  of  Maine. 
Chester  A.  Arthur  was  placed  in  nomination 
amid  great  enthusiasm.  Then  the  Hon.  J.  B. 
Foraker  of  Ohio  nominated  John  Sherman,  and 
ex-Governor  Long  of  Massachusetts  nominated 
Senator  Edmunds. 

When  the  balloting  for  the  nomination  of  a 
candidate  was  begun,  it  was  found  that  many  of 
the  delegations  were  divided  in  their  choice,  and 
a  poll  of  each  delegation  had  to  be  made.'  As  the 
result  of  this  ballot  Mr.  Elaine  had  334^  votes, 
Mr.  Arthur  278,  Mr.  Edmunds  93,  Mr.  Logan 
63^,  Mr.  Sherman  30,  Mr.  Hawley  13,  Mr.  Lin 
coln  4,  and  General  William  T.  Sherman  2.  No 
candidate  having  a  majority  of  all  the  votes  cast, 
a  second  ballot  was  immediately  called  for  and 
was  taken  without  material  change  in  the  result. 
There  was  a  slight  gain  for  Mr.  Elaine,  however, 
which  called  for  another  period  of  tumultuous  cheer 
ing.  Then  the  third  ballot  was  called  for  amid 


2  34  JAMJLS    G.    BLAINE. 

much  confusion.  The  votes  of  various  delega 
tions  were  challenged  and  there  were  many  dis 
putes  on  various  points  of  order.  When  the  re 
sult  was  finally  announced  it  was  seen  that  Mr. 
Elaine  had  gained  many  votes  and  had  now  a 
total  of  375.  Mr.  Arthur's  supporters  remained 
steadfast  at  274.  Mr.  Edmunds's  vote  had  fallen 
to  69,  and  there  were  other  slight  changes.  But 
the  result  of  this  ballot  indicated  that  Mr.  Elaine 
was  the  coming  man  and  his  opponents  desper 
ately  strove  to  stave  off  the  inevitable.  Mr.  For- 
aker,  of  Ohio,  moved  for  a  recess  of  several 
hours,  but  the  proposition  was  overwhelmingly 
voted  down.  Then  there  was  another  long 
wrangle  on  points  of  order,  followed  by  another 
motion  from  Mr.  Foraker  that  the  rules  of  the 
Convention  be  suspended  and  that  James  G. 
Elaine  be  nominated  by  acclamation.  There  was 
a  great  and  disorderly  wrangle  over  this,  also, 
which  ended  in  the  motion  being  withdrawn. 

Then  the  fourth  ballot  began.  The  bulk  of 
Mr.  Arthur's  supporters  remained  faithful  to  him. 
But  the  Illinois  delegation  withdrew  the  name  of 
General  Logan,  and  cast  34  votes  for  Elaine. 
When  the  State  of  Ohio  was  called,  the  name  of 
John  Sherman  was  also  withdrawn  and  46  more 
votes  were  added  to  the  Elaine  column.  That 
settled  it.  The  remainder  of  the  roll  call  pro 
ceeded  amid  great  confusion  and  the  Secretary 
began  to  announce  the  result.  But  the  words 


CONVENTION  OF  1884.     .  38$ 

"  Elaine,  541  "  were  scarcely  out  of  his  mouth  be 
fore  his  voice  was  drowned  in  a  perfect  deluge  of 
applause  which  lasted  for  many  minutes.  The 
whole  Convention  rose  to  its  feet  and  shouted  and 
screamed  'and  sang  and  stamped  and  waved  in 
the  air  every  movable  object  within  reach.  It 
was  impossible  for  the  Secretary  to  make  himself 
heard.  But  at  last  partial  quiet  was  restored  and 
the  result  of  the  ballot  in  full  was  announced  as 
follows  :  Elaine,  541  ;  Arthur,  207  ;  Edmunds, 
41  ;  Hawley,  15  ;  Logan,  7  ;  and  Lincoln,  2. 
Immediately,  upon  motion  of  one  of  Mr.  Arthur's 
supporters,  the  nomination  was  made  unanimous, 
and  the  Convention  adjourned  until  evening. 
Then  General  Logan  was  nominated  for  Vice- 
President  and  the  Convention  adjourned.  At  the 
third  attempt  Mr.  Elaine's  friends  had  been  suc 
cessful.  They  had  secured  for  him  the  nomina 
tion  for  President  by  the  Republican  party,  with 
brilliant  prospects  for  a  successful  issue  at  the 
polls.  A  committee,  consisting  of  a  large  num 
ber  of  eminent  Republicans,  was  appointed  to  in 
form  Mr.  Elaine  officially  of  his  nomination. 
They  did  so,  at  his  home  at  Augusta,  Maine,  on 
June  2ist,  their  address  being  read  by  ex-Senator 
Henderson,  as  follows  : 

"  MR.  ELAINE  : — Your  nomination  for  the  office 
of  President  of  the  United  States,  by  the  National 
Republican  Convention  recently  assembled  in 
Chicago,  is  already  known  to  you.  The  gentlemen 


386  JAMES   G.  BLAIA'E. 

before  you,  constituting  a  committee  composed  of 
one  member  from  each  State  and  Territory  of  the 
country,  and  one  from  the  District  of  Columbia, 
now  come  as  the  accredited  organ  of  that  Con 
vention,  to  give  you  formal  notice  of  me  nomina 
tion  and  to  request  your  acceptance  thereof. 

"It  is,  of  course,  known  to  you,  that  besides 
your  own,  several  names,  among  the  most  hon 
ored  in  the  councils  of  the  Republican  party, 
were  presented  by  their  friends  as  candidates  for 
this  office.  Between  your  friends  and  the  friends 
of  gentlemen  so  justly  entitled  to  the  respect  and 
confidence  of  their  political  associates,  the  con 
test  was  one  of  generous  rivalry,  free  from  any 
taint  of  bitterness,  and  equally  free  from  the  re 
proach  of  injustice.  At  an  early  stage  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  Convention  it  became  mani 
fest  that  the  Republican  States,  whose  aid  must 
be  invoked  at  last  to  insure  success  to  the  ticket, 
earnestly  desired  your  nomination.  It  was 
equally  manifest  that  this  desire,  so  earnestly  ex 
pressed  by  the  delegates  from  these  States,  was 
but  the  truthful  reflection  of  an  irresistible  pop 
ular  demand.  It  was  not  thought,  nor  pretended, 
that  this  demand  had  its  origin  in  any  ambitious 
desires  of  your  own,  or  in  the  organized  work  of 
your  friends,  but  it  was  recognized  to  be  what  it 
truthfully  is — the  spontaneous  expression  by  a 
free  people  of  their  love  and  admiration  of  a 
chosen  leader. 


THE  CONVENTION  OF  iSSj.  387 

"  No  nomination  would  have  given  satisfaction 
to  all  the  members  of  the  party.  This  was  not 
to  be  expected  in  a  country  so  extended  in  area 
and  so  varied  in  interests.  -The  nomination  of 
Mr.  Lincoln,  in  1860,  disappointed  so  many  fond 
hopes  and  overthrew  so  many  cherished  ambi 
tions  that  for  a  short  time  the  disaffection  threat 
ened  to  ripen  into  open  revolt.  In  1872  the  dis 
content  was  so  pronounced  as  to  impel  large 
masses  of  the  party  into  organized  opposition  to 
its  nominees.  For  many  weeks  after  the  nomi 
nation  of  General  Garfield,  in  1880,  defeat 
seemed  almost  inevitable.  Fortunately,  in  each 
case,  the  shock  of  disappointment  was  followed 
by  the  sober  second  thought.  Individual  prefer 
ences  gradually  yielded  to  convictions  of  public 
duty.  The  promptings  of  patriotism  finally  rose 
superior  to  the  irritations  and  animosities  of  the 
hour.  Indeed,  the  party  in  every  trial  has  grown 
stronger  in  the  face  of  threatened  danger. 

"In  tendering  you  this  nomination,  it  gives  us 
pleasure  to  remember  that  those  great  measures 
which  furnished  causes  for  party  congratulation 
by  the  late  Convention  at  Chicago,  and  which  are 
now  crystallized  into  the  legislation  of  the  coun 
try — measures  which  have  strengthened  and  dig 
nified  the  Nation,  while  they  have  elevated  and 
advanced  the  people — have,  at  all  times  and  on 
all  proper  occasions,  received  your  earnest  and 
valuable  support.  It  was  your  good  fortune  to 


3 gg  JAMRS   G.  8LAIN&. 

aid  in  protecting  the  Nation  against  the  assaults 
of  armed  treason  ;  you  were  present  and  helped 
to  unloose  the  shackles  of  the  slave  ;  you  assisted 
in  placing  the  new  .guarantees  of  freedom  in  the 
Federal  Constitution  ;  your  voice  was  potent  in 
preserving  the  National  faith  ;  when  false  theories 
of  finance  would  have  blasted  National  and  indi 
vidual  prosperity,  we  kindly  remember  you  as 
the  fast  friend  of  honest  money  and  commercial 
integrity.  In  all  that  pertains  to  the  security  and 
repose  of  capital,  the  dignity  of  labor,  the  man 
hood,  elevation  and  freedom  of  the  people,  the 
right  of  the  oppressed  to  demand,  and  the  duty 
of  the  government  to  afford,  protection,  your 
public  acts  have  received  the  unqualified  endorse 
ment  of  popular  approval. 

"  But  we  are  not  unmindful  of  the  fact  that 
parties,  like  individuals,  cannot  live  entirely  on  the 
past,  however  splendid  the  record.  The  present 
is  ever  charged  with  its  immediate  cares,  and  the 
future  presses  on  with  its  new  duties  and  its  per 
plexing  responsibilities.  Parties,  like  individuals, 
however,  that  are  free  from  the  stain  of  violated 
faith  in  the  past,  are  fairly  entitled  to  presump 
tions  of  sincerity  in  their  promises  for  the  future. 

"  Among  the  promises  made  by  the  party  in  its 
late  Convention  at  Chicago,  are  :  Purity  and  econ 
omy  of  administration  ;  protection  of  the  citizen, 
native  and  naturalized,  at  home  and  abroad  ;  the 
prompt  restoration  of  our  navy  ;  a  wise  reduction 


TH£  CONVENTION  OF  1^4,  389 

of  the  surplus  revenues,  relieving  the  tax-payer 
without  injuring  the  laborer;  .the  preservation  of 
the  public  lands  for  actual  settlers  ;  import  duties, 
when  necessary  at  all,  to  be  levied  not  for  revenue- 
only  but  for  the  double  purpose  of  revenue  and 
protection  ;  regulation  of  internal  commerce  by 
the  National  Congress  ;  settlement  of  interna 
tional  differences  by  peaceful  arbitration,  but 
coupled  with  the  reassertion  and  maintenance  of 
the  Monroe  doctrine  as  interpreted  by  the  fathers 
of  the  Republic ;  perseverance  in  the  good  work 
of  civil  service  reform,  "  to  the  end  that  the  dan 
gers  to  free  institutions  which  lurk  in  the  power  of 
official  patronage  may  be  wisely  and  effectively 
avoided";  honest  currency  based  on  coin  of  in 
trinsic  value,  adding  strength  to  the  public  credit, 
and  giving  renewed  vitality  to  every  branch  of 
American  industry. 

"  Mr.  Elaine :  During  the  last  twenty-three  years 
the  Republican  party  has  builded  a  new  Republic— 
a  Republic  far  more  splendid  than  that  originally 
designed  by  our  forefathers.  Its  proportions, 
already  grand,  may  yet  be  enlarged;  its  foundations 
may  yet  be  strengthened,  and  its  columns  adorned 
with  a  beauty  more  resplendent  still.  To  you,  as 
its  architect-in-chief,  will  soon  be  assigned  this 
grateful  work." 

To  this  address  Mr.  Elaine  replied,  saying  : 
"Mr.  Chairman,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  National 
Committee: — I  receive,  not  without  deep  sensibility, 


JAMES  G. 

your  official  notice  of  the  action  of  the  National 
Convention,  already  brought  to  my  knowledge 
through  the  public  press.  I  appreciate,  more  pro 
foundly  than  I  can  express,  the  honor  which  is 
implied  in  the  nomination  for  the  Presidency  by 
the  Republican  party  of  the  Nation,  speaking 
through  the  authoritative  voice  of  its  duly  accred 
ited  delegates.  To  be  selected  as  a  candidate  by 
such  an  assemblage,  from  the  list  of  eminent 
Statesmen  whose  names  were  presented,  fills  me 
with  embarrassment.  I  can.  only  express  my 
gratitude  for  so  signal  an  honor,  and  my  desire 
to  prove  worthy  of  the  great  trust  reposed  in  me. 

"  In  accepting  the  nomination,  as  I  now  do,  I 
am  impressed,  I  might  almost  say  oppressed,  with 
a  sense  of  the  labor  and  responsibility  which 
attach  to  my  position.  The  burden  is  lightened, 
however,  by  the  host  of  earnest  men  who  support 
my  candidacy,  many  of  whom  add,  as  does  your 
honorable  committee,  the  cheer  of  personal  friend- 
ship  to  the  pledge  of  political  fealty.  A  more 
formal  acceptance  will  naturally  be  expected,  and 
will  in  due  season  be  communicated.  It  may, 
however,  not  be  inappropriate  at  this  time  to  say 
that  I  have  already  made  a-  careful  study  of  the 
principles  announced  by  the  National  Convention, 
and  in  whole  and  in  detail  they  have  my  heartiest 
sympathy  and  meet  my  unqualified  approval. 

"Apart  from  your  official  errand,  gentlemen,  I 
am  extremely  happy  to  welcome  you  all  to  my 


TUE  CONVEttTIOtf  OF  il 


391 


home.  With  many  of  you  I  have  already  shared 
the  duties  of  the  public  service,  and  have  enjoyed 
the  most  cordial  friendship.  I  trust  your  journey 
from  all  parts  of  the  great  Republic  has  been 
agreeable,  and  that  during  your  stay  in  Maine  you 
will  feel  that  you  are  not  among  strangers,  but 
among  friends.  Invoking  the  blessing  of  God 
upon  the  great  cause  which  we  jointly  represent, 
let  us  turn  to  the  future  without  fear,  and  with 
manly  hearts." 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

THE  LETTER  OF  ACCEPTANCE. 

The  Opening  of  Mr.  Elaine's  Campaign — A  Statesmanlike  Discussion  of 
the  Issues  of  the  Day — The  Revenue  Laws  and  the  Protective  Tariff — 
Agricultural  Interests  of  the  Nation — Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce. 
— Lai  or  and  Capital — Relations  with  Foreign  Nations — The  South 
American  Republics — The  Civil  Service — The  Mormon  Uuestion — 
The  Freedom  and  Purity  of  the  Ballot. 

The  platform  adopted  by  the  National  Repub 
lican  Convention  expressed  the  principles  of  the 
party.  It  remained  for  the  candidate  to  make  a 
direct  and  explicit  personal  utterance  on  the 
leading  issues  of  the  day,  which  should  be,  in 
great  measure,  the  keynote  of  public  discussion 
during  the  campaign.  This  Mr.  Elaine  did  in  his 
formal  letter  of  acceptance,  which  is  wormy  of 
preservation  and  study  as  a  text-book  of  American 
patriotism,  and  of  the  principles  of  American 
policy  and  American  citizenship.  It  is  here  re 
produced  in  full  : 

AUGUSTA,  ME.,  July  15,  1884. 

The  Hon.  John  B.  Henderson  and  Others  of  the 
Committee,  etc.,  etc. 

Gentlemen: — In    accepting  the  nomination  for 
the    Presidency  tendered    me    by   the   National 
Republican     Convention,    I   beg     to     express    a 
392 


THE  LETTER  OP  ACCEPTANCE. 

deep  sense  of  the  honor  which  is  conferred,  and 

*          -9 

of  the  duty  which  is  imposed.  I  venture  to  ac 
company  the  acceptance  with  some  observations 
upon  the  questions  involved  in  the  contest — ques 
tions  whose  settlement  may  affect  the  future  of 
the  Nation  favorably  or  unfavorably  for  a  long 
series  of  years. 

Li  enumerating  the  issues  upon  which  the 
Republican  party  appeals  for  popular  support,  the 
Convention  has  been  singularly  explicit  and  felici 
tous.  It  has  properly  given  the  leading  position 
to  the  industrial  interests  of  the  country  as  affected 
bv  the  tariff  on  imports.  On  that  question  the 
two  political  parties  are  radically  in  conflict. 
Almost  the  first  act  of  the  Republicans,  when  they 
came  into  power  in  1861,  was  the  establishment 
of  the  principle  of  protection  to  American  labor 
and  to  American  capkal.  This  principle  the 
Republican  party  has  ever  since  steadily  main 
tained,  while  on  the  other  hand  the  Democratic 
party  in  Congress  has  for  fifty  years  persistently 
warred  upon  it.  Twice  within  that  period  our 
opponents  have  destroyed  tariffs  arranged  for 
protection,  and  since  the  close  of  the  Civil  War, 
whenever  they  have  controlled  the  House  of 
Representatives,  hostile  legislation  has  been  at 
tempted — never  more  conspicuously  than  in  their 
principal  measure  at  the  late  session  of  Congress. 

Revenue  laws'  are  in  their  very  nature  subject 
to  freauent  revision  in  order  that  they  may  be 


394  JAMES   G.    LLAINE. 

adapted  to  changes  and  modifications  of  trade.  The 
Republican  party  is  not  contending  for  the  per 
manency  of  any  particular  statute.  The  issue 
between  the  two  parties  does  not  have  reference 
to  a  specific  law.  It  is  far  broader  and  far  deeper. 
It  involves  a  principle  of  wide  application  and 
beneficent  influence,  against  a  theory  which  we 
believe  to  be  unsound  in  conception  and  inevitably 
hurtful  in  practice.  In  the  many  tariff  revisions 
which  have  been  necessary  for  the  past  twenty- 
three  years,  or  which  may  hereafter  become  nec 
essary,  the  Republican  party  has  maintained  and 
will  maintain  the  policy  of  protection  to  American 
industry,  while  our  opponents  insist  upon  a  revis 
ion  which  practically  destroys  that  policy.  The 
issue  is  thus  distinct,  well-defined,  and  unavoid 
able.  The  pending  election  may  determine  the 
fate  of  protection  for  a  generation.  The  over 
throw  of  the  policy  means  a  large  and  permanent 
reduction  in  the  wages  of  the  American  laborer, 
besides  involving  the  loss  of  vast  amounts  of 
American  capital  invested  in  manufacturing  enter 
prises.  The  value  of  the  present  revenue  system 
to  the  people  of  the  United  States  is  not  a  matter 
of  theory,  and  I  shall  submit  no  argument  to 
sustain  it.  I  only  invite  attention  to  certain  facts 
of  official  record  which  seem  to  constitute  a  de 
monstration. 

In  the  census  of  1850,  an  effort  was  made  for 
the  first  time  in  our  history  to  obtain  a  valuation 


THE  LETTER  OF  ACCEPTANCE.  395 

of  all  the  property  in  the  United  States.  The 
attempt  was  in  a  large  degree  unsuccessful. 
Partly  from  lack  of  time,  partly  from  prejudice 
among  many  who  thought  the  inquiries  foreshad 
owed  a  new  scheme  of  taxation,  the  returns  were 
incomplete  and  unsatisfactory.  Little  more  was 
done  than  to  consolidate  the  local  valuation  used 
in  the  States  for  purposes  of  assessment,  and 
that,  as  every  one  knows,  differs  widely  from  a 
complete  exhibit  of  all  the  property. 

In  the  census  of  1860,  however,  the  work  was 
done  with  great  thoroughness — the  distinction  be 
tween  " assessed"  value  and  "true"  value  being 
carefully  observed.  The  grand  result  was  that 
the  "true  value"  of  all  the  property  in  the  States 
and  Territories  (excluding  slaves)  amounted  to 
fourteen  thousand  millions  of  dollars  ($14,000,- 
000,000).  This  aggregate  was  the  net  result  of 
the  labor  and  the  savings  of  all  the  people  within 
the  area  of  the  United  States,  from  the  time  the 
first  British  colonists  landed  in  1607,  down  to  the 
year  1860.  It  represented  the  fruit  of  the  toil  of 
two  hundred  and  fifty  years. 

After  1860,  the  business  of  the  country  was 
encouraged  and  developed  by  a  protective  tariff. 
At  the  end  of  twenty  years,  the  total  property  of 
the  United  States,  as  returned  by  the  census  of 
1880,  amounted  to  the  enormous  aggregate  of 
forty-four  thousand  millions  of  dollars  ($44,- 
000,000,000).  This  great  result  was  attained, 


396  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

notwithstanding  the  fact  that  countless  millions 
had,  in  the  interval,  been  wasted  in  the  progress  of 
a  bloody  war.  It  thus  appears,  that  while  our  pop 
ulation  between  1860  and  1880  increased  sixty 
per  cent.,  the  aggregate  property  increased  two 
hundred  and  fourteen  per  cent,  showing  a  vastly 
enhanced  wealth  per  capita  among  the  people. 
Thirty  thousand  millions  of  dollars  ($30,000,000,- 
ooo)  had  been  .added  during  these  twenty  years 
to  the  permanent  wealth  of  the  Nation. 

These  results  are  regarded  by  the  older  nations 
of  the  world  as  phenomenal.  That  our  country 
should  surmount  the  peril  and  the  cost  of  a 
gigantic  war,  and  for  an  entire  period  of  twenty 
years  make  an  average  gain  to  its  wealth  of 
$125,000,000  per  month,  surpasses  the  experience 
of  all  other  nations,  ancient  or  modern.  Even 
the  opponents  of  the  present  revenue  system  do 
not  pretend  that  in  the  whole  history  of  civilization 
any  parallel  can  be  found  to  the  material  progress 
of  the  United  States  since  the  accession  of  the 
Republican  party  to  power. 

The  period  between  1860  and  to-day  has  not 
been  one  of  material  prosperity  only.  At  no  time 
in  ihe  history  of  the  United  States  has  there  been 
such  progress  in  the  moral  and  philanthropic  field. 
Religious  and  charitable  institutions,  schools, 
seminaries  and  colleges  have  been  founded  and 
endowed  far  more  generously  than  at  any  previous 
time  in  our  history.  Greater  and  more  varied 


u 


THE  LETTER  OF  ACCEPTANCE. 

relief  has  been  extended  to  human  suffering,  arid 
the  entire  progress  of  the  country  in  wealth  has 
been  accompanied  and  dignified  by  a  broadening 
and  elevation  of  our  National  character  as  a 
people. 

Our  opponents  find  fault  that  our  revenue  sys 
tem  produces  a  surplus.  But  they  should  not 
forget  that  the  law  has  given  a  specific  purpose  to 
which  all  of  the  surplus  is  profitably  and  honor 
ably  applied — the  reduction  of  the  public  debt  and 
the  consequent  relief  of  the  burden  of  taxation. 
No  dollar  has  been  wasted,  and  the  only  extrava 
gance  with  which  the  party  stands  charged,  is  the 
generous  pensioning  of  soldiers,  sailors,  and  their 
families — an  extravagance  which  embodies  the 
highest  form  of  justice  in  the  recognition  and 
payment  of  a  sacred  debt.  When  reduction  of 
taxation  is  to  be  made,  the  Republican  party  can 
be  trusted  to  accomplish  it  in  such  form  as  will 
most  effectively  aid  the  industries  of  the  Nation. 

A  frequent  accusation  by  our  opponents  is  that 
the  foreign  commerce  of  the  country  has  steadily 
decayed  under  the  influence  of  the  protective 
tariff.  In  this  way  they  seek  to  array  the  import 
ing  interests  against  the  Republican  party.  It  is 
a  common  and  yet  radical  error  to  confound  the 
commerce  of  the  country  with  its  carrying  trade 
— an  error  often  committed  innocently  and  some 
times  designedly — but  an  error  so  gross  that  it 
does  not  distinguish  between  the  ship  and  the 
23 


4<DO  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

cargo.  Foreign  commerce  represents  the  exports 
and  imports  of  a  country,  regardless  of  the 
nationality  of  the  vessel  that  may  carry  the  com 
modities  of  exchange.  Our  carrying  trade  has, 
rom  some  obvious  causes,  suffered  many  dis 
couragements  since  1860,  but  our  foreign  com 
merce  has  in  the  same  period  steadily  and 
prodigiously  increased — increased,  indeed,  at  a 
rate  and  to  an  amount  which  absolutely  dwarf  all 
previous  developments  of  our  trade  beyond  the 
sea.  From  1860  to  the  present  time,  the  foreign 
commerce  of  the  United  States  (divided  with  ap 
proximate  equality  between  exports  and  imports) 
reached  the  astounding  aggregate  of  twenty-four 
thousand  millions  of  dollars  ($24,000,000,000). 
The  balance  in  this  vast  commerce  inclined  in  our 
favor,  but  it  would  have  been  much  larger  if  our 
trade  with  the  countries  of  America — elsewhere 
referred  to — had  been  more  wisely  adjusted. 

It  is  difficult  even  to  appreciate  the  magnitude 
of  our  export  trade  since  1860,  and  we  can  gain 
a  correct  conception  of  it  only  by  comparison 
with  preceding  results  in  the  same  field.  The 
total  exports  from  the  United  States  from  the 
Declaration  of  Independence  in  1776  down  to 
the  day  of  Lincoln's  election  in  1860,  added  to 
all  that  had  previously  been  exported  from  the 
American  colonies  from  their  original  settlement, 
amounted  to  less  than  nine  thousand  millions  of 
dollars  ($9,000,000,000).  On  the  other  hand, 


THE  LETTER  OF  ACCEPTANCE.  401 

our  exports  from  1860  to  the  close  of  the  last 
fiscal  year  exceeded  twelve  thousand  millions  of 
dollars  ($12,000,000,000)  —  the  whole  of  it  being 
the  product  of  American  labor.  'Evidently  a  pro 
tective  tariff  has  not  injured  our  export  trade, 
when,  under  its  influence,  we  exported  in  twenty- 
four  years  40  per  cent,  more  than  the  total 
amount  that  had  been  exported  in  the  entire  pre 
vious  history  of  American  commerce.  All  the 
details,  when  analyzed,  correspond  with  this  gi 
gantic  result.  The  commercial  cities  of  the  Union 
never  had  such  growth  as  they  have  enjoyed 
since  1860.  Our  chief  emporium,  the  city  of 
New  York,  with  its  dependencies,  has,  within  that 
period,  doubled  her  population  and  increased  her 
wealth  fivefold.  During  the  same  period,  the  im 
ports  and  exports  which  have  entered  and  left 
her  harbor  are  more  than  double,  in  bulk  and 
value,  the  whole  amount  imported  and  exported 
by  her  between  the  settlement  of  the  first  Dutch 
colony  on  the  Island  of  Manhattan  and  the  out 
break  of  the  Civil  War  in  1860. 

The  agricultural  interest  is  by  far  the  largest 
in  the  Nation,  and  is  entitled,  in  every  adjustment 
of  revenue  laws,  to  the  first  consideration.  Any 
policy  hostile  to  the  fullest  development  of  agri 
culture  in  the  United  States  must  be  abandoned. 
Realizing  this  fact,  the  opponents  of  the  present 
system  of  revenue  have  labored  very  earnestly 
to  persuade  the  farmers  of  the  United  States 


402  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

that  they  are  robbed  by  a  protective  tariff,  and  the 
effort  is  thus  made  to  consolidate  their  vast  influ 
ence  in  favor  of  free  trade.  But,  happily,  the 
farmers  of  America  are  intelligent,  and  cannot  be 
misled  by  sophistry  when  conclusive  facts  are  be 
fore  them.  They  see  plainly  that,  during  the 
past  twenty -four  years,  wealth  has  not  been  ac 
quired  in  one  section  or  by  one  interest  at  the 
expense  of  another  section  or  another  interest. 
They  see  that  the  agricultural  States  have  made 
even  more  rapid  progress  than  the  manufacturing 
States. 

The  farmers  see  that  in  1860  Massachusetts 
and  Illinois  had  about  the  same  wealth — between 
$800,000,000  and  $900,000,000  each — and  that 
in  1880  Massachusetts  had  advanced  to  $2,600,- 
000,000,  while  Illinois  had  advanced  to  $3,200,- 
000,000.  They  see  that  New  Jersey  and  Iowa 
were  just  equal  in  population  in  1860,  and  that 
in  twenty  years  the  wealth  of  New  Jersey  was  in 
creased  by  the  sum  of  $850,000,000,  while  the 
wealth  of  Iowa  was  increased  by  the  sum  of  $i,- 
500,000,000.  They  see  that  the  nine  leading  ag 
ricultural  States  of  the  West  had  grown  so  rap 
idly  in  prosperity  that  the  aggregate  addition  to 
their  wealth  in  1860  is  almost  as  great  as  the 
wealth  of  the  entire  country  in  that  year.  They 
see  that  the  South,  which  is  almost  exclusively 
agricultural,  has  shared  in  the  general  prosperity, 
and  that,  having  recovered  from  the  loss  and 


THE  LETTER  OF  ACCEPTANCE.  403 

devastation  of  war,  it  has  gained  so  rapidly  that 
its  total  wealth  is  at  least  the  double  of  that  which 
it  possessed  in  1860,  exclusive  of  slaves. 

In  these  extraordinary  developments  the  farm 
ers  see  the  helpful  impulse  of  a  home  market,  and 
they  see  that  the  financial  and  revenue  system, 
enacted  since  the  Republican  party  came  into 
power,  has  established  and  constantly  expanded 
the  home  market.  They  see  that  even  in  the  case 
of  wheat,  which  is  our  chief  cereal  export,  they 
have  sold,  in  the  average  of  the  years  since  the 
close  of  the  war,  three  bushels  at  home  to  one 
they  have  sold  abroad,  and  that  in  the  case  of 
corn,  the  only  other  cereal  which  we  export  to 
any  extent,  one  hundred  bushels  have  been  used 
at  home  to  three  and  a  half  bushels  exported.  In 
some  years  the  disparity  has  been  so  great  that 
for  every  peck  of  corn  exported  one  hundred 
bushels  have  been  consumed  in  the  home  market. 
The  farmers  see  that,  in  the  increasing  competition 
from  the  grain  fields  of  Russia  and  from  the 
distant  plains  of  India,  the  growth  of  the  home 
market  becomes  daily  of  greater  concern  to  them, 
and  that  its  impairment  would  depreciate  the 
value  of  every  acre  of  tillable  land  in  the  Union. 

Such  facts  as  these,  touching  the  growth  and 
consumption  of  cereals  at  home,  give  us  some 
slight  conception  of  the  vastness  of  the  internal 
commerce  of  the  United  States.  They  suggest 
also,  that  in  addition  to  the  advantages  which  the 


404  JAMES  <;.   HLAINE. 

American  people  enjoy  from  protection  against 
foreign  competition,  they  enjoy  the  advantages  of 
absolute  free  trade  over  a  larger  area  and  with  a 
greater  population  than  any  other  nation.  The 
internal  commerce  of  our  thirty-eight  States  and 
nine  Territories  is  carried  on  without  let  or  hin 
drance,  without  tax,  detention,  or  governmental 
interference  of  any  kind  whatever.  It  spreads 
freely  over  an  area  of  three  and  a  half  million 
square  miles — almost  equal  in  extent  to  the  whole 
continent  of  Europe.  Its  profits  are  enjoyed  to 
day  by  56,000,000  of  American  freemen,  and  from 
this  enjoyment  no  monopoly  is  created.  Accord 
ing  to  Alexander  Hamilton,  when  he  discussed 
the  same  subject  in  1790,  "the  internal  competi 
tion  which  takes  place  does  away  with  everything 
like  monopoly,  and  by  degrees  reduces  the  prices 
of  articles  to  the  minimum  of  a  reasonable  profit 
on  the  capital  employed."  It  is  impossible  to 
point  to  a  single  monopoly  in  the  United  States 
that  has  been  created  or  fostered  by  the  industrial 
system  which  is  upheld  by  the  Republican  party. 
Compared  with  our  foreign  commerce,  these 
domestic  exchanges  are  inconceivably  great  in 
amount — requiring  merely  as  one  instrumentality 
as  large  a  mileage  of  railway  as  exists  to-day  in 
all  the  other  nations  of  the  world  combined. 
These  internal  exchanges  are  estimated  by  the 
Statistical  Bureau  of  the  Treasury  Department  to 
be  annually  twenty  times  as  great  in  amount  as 


THE  LETTER  OF  ACCEPTANCE.  405 

our  foreign  commerce.  It  is  into  this  vast  field  of 
home  trade — at  once  the  creation  and  the  heritage 
of  the  American  people — that  foreign  nations  are 
striving  by  every  device  to  enter.  It  is  into  this 
field  that  the  opponents  of  our  present  revenue 
system  would  freely  admit  the  countries  of  Europe 
—  countries  into  whose  internal  trade  we  could  not 
reciprocally  enter,  countries  to  which  we  should 
be  surrendering  every  advantage  of  trade  ;  from 
which  we  should  be  gaining  nothing  in  return. 

A  policy  of  this  kind  would  be  disastrous  to 
the  mechanics  and  workingmen  of  the  United 
States.  Wages  are  unjustly  reduced  when  an 
industrious  man  is  not  able  by  his  earnings  to 
live  in  comfort,  educate  his  children,  and  lay  by  a 
sufficient  amount  for  the  necessities  of  age.  The 
reduction  of  wages  inevitably  consequent  upon 
throwing  our  home  market  open  to  the  \vorld 
would  deprive  them  of  the  power  to  do  this.  It 
would  prove  a  great  calamity  to  our  country.  It 
would  produce  a  conflict  between  the  poor  and 
the  rich,  and  in  the  sorrowful  degradation  of  labor 
would  plant  the  seeds  of  public  danger. 

The  Republican  party  has  steadily  aimed  to 
maintain  just  relations  between  labor  and  capital, 
guarding  with  care  the  rights  of  each.  A  conflict 
between  the  two  has  always  led  in  the  past  and 
will  always  lead  in  the  future  to  the  injury  of 
both.  Labor  is  indispensable  to  the  creation  and 
profitable  use  of  capital,  and  capital  increases  the 


JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

efficiency  and  value  of  labor.  Whoever  arrays 
the  one  against  the  other  is  an  enemy  of  both. 
That  policy  is  wisest  and  best  which  harmonized 
the  two  on  the  basis  of  absolute  justice.  The 
Republican  party  has  protected  the  free  labor  of 
America  so  that  ks  compensation  is  larger  than 
is  realized  in  any  other  country.  It  has  guarded 
our  people  against  the  unfair  competition  of  con 
tract  labor  from  China,  and  may  be  called  upon 
to  prohibit  the  growth  of  a  similar  evil  from 
Europe.  It  is  obviously  unfair  to  permit  capital 
ists  to  make  contracts  for  cheap  labor  in  foreign 
countries  to  the  hurt  and  disparagement  of  the 
labor  of  American  citizens.  Such  a  policy  (like 
that  which  would  leave  the  time  and  other  condi 
tions  of  home  labor  exclusively  in  the  control  of 
the  employer)  is  injurious  to  all  parties — not  the 
least  so  to  the  unhappy  persons  who  are  made 
the  subjects  of  the  contract.  The  institutions  of 
the  United  States  rest  upon  the  intelligence  and 
virtue  of  all  the  people.  Suffrage  is  made  uni 
versal  as  a  just  weapon  of  self-protection  to  every 
citizen.  It  is  not  the  interest  of  the  Republic  that 
any  economic  system  should  be  adopted  which  in 
volves  the  reduction  of  wages  to  the  hard  stand 
ard  prevailing  elsewhere.  The  Republican 
party  aims  to  elevate  and  dignify  labor — not  to 
degrade  it. 

Asa  substitute  for  the  industrial  system  which, 
under  Republican  administration,  has   developed 


THE  LETTER  OF  ACCEPTANCE. 


407 


such  extraordinary  prosperity,  our  opponents  of 
fer  a  policy  which  is  but  a  series  of  experiments 
upon  our  system  of  revenue — a  policy  whose  end 
must  be  harm  to  our  manufactures  and  greater 
harm  to  our  labor.  Experiment  in  the  industrial 
and  financial  system  is  the  country's  greatest 
dread,  as  stability  is  its  greatest  boon.  Even  the 
uncertainty  resulting  from  the  recent  tariff  agita 
tion  in  Congress  has  hurtfully  affected  the  busi 
ness  of  the  entire  country.  Who  can  measure 
the  harm  to  our  shops  and  our  homes,  to  our 
farms  and  our  commerce,  if  the  uncertainty  of 
perpetual  tariff  agitation  is  to  be  inflicted  upon 
the  country?  We  are  in  the  midst  of  an  abun 
dant  harvest ;  we  are  on  the  eve  of  a  revival  of 
general  prosperity.  Nothing  stands  in  our  way 
but  the  dread  of  a  change  in  the  industrial  sys 
tem  which  has  wrought  such  wonders  in  the  last 
twenty  years,  and  which,  with  the  power  of  in 
creased  capital,  will  work  still  greater  marvels  of 
prosperity  in  the  twenty  years  to  come. 

Our  foreign  relations  favor  our  domestic  de 
velopment.  We  are  at  peace  with  the  world — at 
peace  upon  a  sound  basis,  with  no  unsettled  ques 
tions  of  sufficient  magnitude  to  embarrass  or  dis- 

O 

tract  us.  Happily  removed  by  our  geographical 
position  from  participation  or  interest  in  those 
questions  of  dynasty  or  boundary  which  so  fre 
quently  disturb  the  peace  of  Europe,  we  are  left 
to  cultivate  friendly  relations  with  all,  and  are 


40S  JAMES  G.    BLAIN&. 

free  from  possible  entanglements  in  the  quarrels 
of  any.  The  United  States  has  no  cause  and  no 
desire  to  engage  in  conflict  with  any  Power  on 
earth,  and  we  may  rest  in  assured  confidence  that 
no  Power  desires  to  attack  the  United  States. 

With  the  nations  of  the  Western  Hemisphere  we 
should  cultivate  closer  relations,  and  for  our  com 
mon  prosperity  and  advancement  we  should  invite 
them  all  to  join  with  us  in  an  agreement,  that,  for 
the  future,  all  international  troubles  in  North  or 
South  America  shall  be  adjusted  by  impartial  arbi 
tration,  and  not  by  arms.  This  project  was  part 
of  the  fixed  policy  of  President  Garfield's  adminis 
tration,  and  it  should,  in  m'y  judgment,  be  re 
newed.  Its  accomplishment  on  this  continent 
would  favorably  affect  the  nations  beyond  the  sea, 
and  thus  powerfully  contribute  at  no  distant  day 
to  the  universal  acceptance  of  the  philanthropic 
and  Christian  principle  of  arbitration.  The  effect 
even  of  suggesting  it  for  the  Spanish-American 
States  has  been  most  happy,  and  has  increased 
the  confidence  of  those  people  in  our  friendly  dis 
position.  It  fell  to  my  lot  as  Secretary  of  State, 
in  June,  iSSi,  to  quiet  apprehension  in  the  Re 
public  of  Mexico  by  giving  the  assurance,  in  an 
official  despatch,  that  "there  is  not  the  faintest 
desire  in  the  United  States  for  territorial  exten 
sion  south  of  the  Rio  Grande.  The  boundaries  of 
the  two  Republics  have  been  established  in  con 
formity  with  the  best- jurisdictional  interests  of 


THE  LETTER   OF  ACCEPTANCE. 

both.  The  line  of  demarcation  is  not  merely  con 
ventional.  It  is  more.  It  separates  a  Spanish- 
American  people  from  a  Saxon-American  people. 
It  divides  one  great  nation  from  another  with  dis 
tinct  and  natural  finality." 

We  seek  the  conquests  of  peace.  We  desire 
to  extend  our  commerce,  and  in  an  especial  de 
gree  with  our  friends  and  neighbors  on  this  con 
tinent.  W7e  have  not  improved  our  relations  with 
Spanish-America  as  wisely  and  persistently  as  we 
might  have  clone."  For  more  than  a  generation 
the  sympathy  of  those  countries  has  been  allowed 
to  drift  away  from  us.  We  should  now  make 
every  effort  to  gain  their  friendship.  Our  trade 
with  them  is  already  large.  During  the  last  year 
our  exchanges  in  the  Western  Hemisphere 
amounted  to  $350,000,000 — nearly  one-fourth  of 
cur  entire  foreign  commerce.  To  those  who  may 
be  disposed  to  underrate  the  value  of  our  trade 
with  the  countries  of  North  and  South  America,  it 
may  be  well  to  state  that  their  population  is 
nearly  or  quite  50,000,000,  and  that,  in  propor 
tion  to  aggregate  numbers,  we  import  nearly 
double  as  much  from  them  as  we  do  from  Europe. 
But  the  result  of  the  whole  American  trade  is  in  a 
high  degree  unsatisfactory.  The  imports  during 
the  past  year  exceeded  $2  2 5, 000,000,  while  the  ex 
ports  were  less  than  $,125,000,000 — showing  a 
balance  against  us  of  more  than  $100,000,000. 
But  the  money  does  not  go  to  Spanish  America. 


410  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

We  send  large  sums  to  Europe  in  coin  or  its 
equivalent  to  pay  European  manufacturers  for  the 
goods  which  they  send  to  Spanish  America.  We 
are  but  paymasters  for  this  enormous  amount 
annually  to  European  factors — an  amount  which 
is  a  serious  draft,  in  every  financial  depression, 
upon  our  resources  of  specie. 

Can  not  this  condition  of  trade  in  great  part  be 
changed  ?  Can  not  the  market  for  our  products 
be  greatly  enlarged  ?  We  have  made  a  begin 
ning  in  our  effort  to  improve  our  trade  relations 
with  Mexico,  and  we  should  not  be  content  until 
similar  and  mutually  advantageous  arrangements 
have  been  successively  made  with  every  nation  of 
North  and  South  America.  While  the  great 
Powers  of  Europe  are  steadily  enlarging  their 
colonial  domination  in  Asia  and  Africa,  it  is  the 
especial  province  of  this  country  to  improve  and 
expand  its  trade  with  the  nations  of  America.  No 
field  promises  so  much.  No  field  has  been  culti 
vated  so  little.  Our  foreign  policy  should  be  an 
American  policy  in  its  broadest  and  most  compre 
hensive  sense — a  policy  of  peace,  of  friendship,  of 
commercial  enlargement. 

The  name  of  American,  which  belongs  to  us 
in  our  National  capacity,  must  always  exalt  the 
just  pride  of  patriotism.  Citizenship  of  the  Re 
public  must  be  the  panoply  and  safeguard  of  him 
who  wears  it.  The  American  citizen,  rich  or  poor, 
native  or  naturalized,  white  or  colored,  must 


THE  LE  T:ER  OF  .  i  CCEP  .  ANCE.  4 •  r 

everywhere  walk  secure  in  his  personal  and  civil 
rights.  The  Republic  should  never  accept  a  lesser 
duty,  it  can  never  assume  a  nobler  one,  than  the 
protection  of  the  humblest  man  who  owes  it  loy 
alty — protection  at  home,  and  protection  which 
shall  follow  him  abroad  into  whatever  land  he 
may  go  upon  a  lawful  errand. 

I  recognize,  not  without  regret,  the  necessity 
for  speaking  of  two  sections  of  our  common 
country.  But  the  regret  diminishes  when  I  see 
that  the  elements  which  separated  them  are  fast 
disappearing.  Prejudices  have  yielded  and  are 
yielding,  while  a  growing  cordiality  warms  the 
Southern  and  the  Northern  heart  alike.  Can  any 
one  doubt  that  between  the  sections  confidence 
and  esteem  are  to-day  more  marked  than  at  any 
period  in  the  sixty  years  preceding  the  election  of 
President  Lincoln?  This  is  the  result  in  part  of 
time,  and  in  part  of  Republican  principles  applied 
under  the  favorable  condition  of  uniformity.  It 
would  be  a  great  calamity  to  change  these  influ 
ences  under  which  Southern  Commonwealths  are 
learning  to  vindicate  civil  rights,  and  adapting 
themselves  to  the  conditions  of  political  tranquil 
lity  and  industrial  progress.  If  there  be  oc 
casional  and  violent  outbreaks  in  the  South 
against  this  peaceful  progress,  the  public  opin 
ion  of  the  country  regards  them  as  excep 
tional,  and  hopefully  trusts  that  each  will  prove 
the  last. 


JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

The  South  needs  capital  and  occupation,  not 
controversy.  As  much  as  any  part  of  the  North, 
the  South  needs  the  full  protection  of  the  revenue 
laws  which  the  Republican  party  offers.  Some  of 
the  Southern  States  have  already  entered  upon  a 
career  of  industrial  development  and  prosperity. 
These,  at  least,  should  not  lend  their  electoral 
votes  to  destroy  their  own  future. 

Any  effort  to  unite  the  Southern  States  upon 
issues  that  grow  out  of  the  memories  of  the  war, 
will  summon  the  Northern  States  to  combine  in 
the  assertion  of  that  Nationality  which  was  their 
inspiration  in  the  civil  struggle.  And  thus  great 
energies  which  should  be  united  in  a  common  in 
dustrial  development  will  be  wasted  in  hurtful 
strife.  The  Democratic  party  shows  itself  a  foe 
to  Southern  prosperity  by  always  invoking  and 
urging  Southern  political  consolidation.  .Such  a 
policy  quenches  the  rising  instinct  of  patriotism 
in  the  heart  of  the  Southern  youth  ;  it  revives 
and  stimulates  prejudice  ;  it  substitutes  the  spirit 
of  barbaric  vengeance  for  the  love  of  peace, 
progress  and  harmony. 

The  general  character  of  the  Civil  Service  of 
the  United  States,  under  all  administrations,  has 
been  honorable.  In  the  one  supreme  test — the 
collection  and  disbursement  of  revenue — the  rec 
ord  of  fidelity  has  never  been  surpassed  in  any 
Nation.  With  the  almost  fabulous  sums  which  were 
received  and  paid  during  the  late  war,  scrupulous 


THE  LETTER  OF  A CCEPTANCE.  4 1 3 

integrity  was  the  prevailing  rule.  Indeed,  through 
out  that  trying  period  it  can  be  said,  to  the  honor 
of  the  American  name,  that  unfaithfulness 'and 
dishonesty  among  civil  officers  were  as  rare  as 
misconduct  and  cowardice  on  the  field  of  battle. 

The  growth  of  the  country  has  continually  and 
necessarily  enlarged  the  Civil  Service,  until  now 
it  includes  a  vast  body  of  officers.  Rules  and 
methods  of  appointment  which  prevailed  when 
the  number  was  smaller,  have  been  found  insuf 
ficient  and  impracticable,  and  earnest  efforts  have 
been  made  to  separate  the  great  mass  of  minis 
terial  officers  from  partisan  influence  and  personal 
control.  Impartiality  in  the  mode  of  appointment 
to  be  based  on  qualification,  and  security  of  ten 
ure  to  be  based  on  faithful  discharge  of  duty,  are 
the  two  ends  to  be  accomplished.  The  public 
business  will  be  aided  by  separating  the  legisla 
tive  branch  of  the  government  from  all  control  of 
appointments,  and  the  Executive  Department 
will  be  relieved  by  subjecting  appointments  to 
fixed  rules,  and  thus  removing  them  from  the 
caprice  of  favoritism.  B'ut  there  should  be  right 
observance  of  the  law  which  gives,  in  all  cases  of 
equal  competency,  the  preference  to  the  soldiers 
who  risked  their  lives  in  defence  of  the  Union. 

I  entered  Congress  in  1863,  and  in  a  somewhat 
prolonged  service  I  never  found  it  expedient  to 
request  or  recommend  the  removal  of  a  civil 
officer,  except  in  four  instances,  and  then  for 


JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

non-political  reasons  which  were  instantly  conclu 
sive  with  the  appointing  power.  The  officers  in  the 
district,  appointed  by  Mr.  Lincoln  in  1861  upon 
the  recommendation  of  my  predecessor,  served, 
as  a  rule,  until  death  or  resignation.  I  adopted 
at  the  beginning  of  my  service  the  test  of  com 
petitive  examination  for  appointments  to  West 
Point,  and  maintained  it  so  long  as  I  had  the  right 
by  law  to  nominate  a  cadet.  In  the  case  of  many 
officers  I  found  that  the  present  law,  which  arbi 
trarily  limits  the  term  of  the  commission,  offered 
a  constant  temptation  to  changes  for  mere  political 
reasons.  I  have  publicly  expressed  the  belief  that 
the  essential  modification  of  that  law  would  be  in 
many  respects  advantageous. 

My  observation  in  the  Department  of  State 
confirmed  the  conclusion  of  my  legislative  experi 
ence,  and  impressed  me  with  the  conviction  that 
the  rule  of  impartial  appointment  might  with 
advantage  be  carried  beyond  any  existing  pro 
vision  of  the  civil  service  law.  It  should  be 
applied  to  appointments  in  the  consular  service. 
Consuls  should  be  commercial  sentinels — encir 
cling  the  globe  with  watchfulness  for  their  country's 
interests.  Their  intelligence  and  competency 
become,  therefore,  matters  of  great  public  con 
cern.  No  man  should  be  appointed  to  an  Ameri 
can  consulate  who  is  not  well  instructed  in  the 
history  and  resources  of  his  own  country,  and 
in  the  requirements  and  language  of  commerce 


REV.  SAMUEL  D.   BURCHARD. 


THE  LE TTER  OF  A CCEPTANCE.  4 1 7 

in  the  country  to  which  he  is  sent.  The  -same 
rule  should  be  applied  even  more  rigidly  to 
secretaries  of  legation  in  our  diplomatic  service. 
The  people  have  the  right  to  the  most  efficient 
agents  in  the  discharge  of  public  business,  and 
the  appointing  power  should  regard  this  as  the 
prior  and  ulterior  consideration. 

Religious  liberty  is  the  right  of  every  citizen  of 
the  Republic.  Congress  is  forbidden  by  the  Con 
stitution  to  make  any  lav/  "respecting  the  estab 
lishment  of  religion  or  prohibiting  the  free 
exercise  thereof."  For  a  century,  under  this 
guarantee,  Protestant  and  Catholic,  Jew  and 
Gentile,  have  worshiped  God  according  to  the 
dictates  of  conscience.  But  religious  liberty  must 
not  be  perverted  to  the  justification  of  offences 
against  the  law.  A  religious  sect,  strongly  en 
trenched  in  one  of  the  Territories  of  the  Union, 
and  spreading  rapidly  into  four  other  Territories, 
claims  the  right  to  destroy  the  great  safeguard 
and  muniment  of  social  order,  and  to  practise  as 
a  religious  privilege  that  which  is  a  crime  punished 
with  severe  penalty  in  every  State  of  the  Union. 
The  sacredness  and  unity  of  the  family  must  be 
preserved  as  the  foundation  of  all  civil  govern 
ment,  as  the  source  of  orderly  administration,  as 
the  surest  guarantee  of  moral  purity. 

The  claim  of  the  Mormons  that  they  are  divinely 
authorized  to  practise  polygamy  should  no  more 

be  admitted   than   the  claim   of   certain  heathen 

24 


JAMES    G.   £LAINE. 

tribes,  if  they  should  come  among  us,  to  continue 
the  right  of  human  sacrifice.  The  law  does  not 
interfere  with  what  a  man  believes  ;  it  takes  cog 
nizance  only  of  what  he  does.  As  citizens,  the 
Mormons  are  entitled  to  the  same  civil  rights  as 
others,  and  to  these  they  must  be  confined. 
Polygamy  can  never  receive  National  sanction  or 
toleration  by  admitting  the  community  that  up 
holds  it  as  a  State  in  the  Union.  Like  others, 
the  Mormons  must  learn  that  the  liberty  of  the 
individual  ceases  where  the  rights  of  society  begin. 
The  people  of  the  United  States,  though  often 
urged  and  tempted,  have  never  seriously  con 
templated  the  recognition  of  any  other  money  than 
gold  and  silver — and  currency  directly  convertible 
into  them.  They  have  not  done  so,  they  will  not 
do  so,  under  any  necessity  less  pressing  than  that 
of  desperate  war.  The  one  special  requisite  for 
the  completion  of  our  monetary  system  is  the 
fixing  of  the  relative  values  of  silver  and  gold. 
The  large  use  of  silver  as  the  money  of  account 
among  Asiatic  nations,  taken  in  connection  with 
the  increasing  commerce  of  the  world,  gives  the 
weightiest  reasons  for  an  international  agreement 
in  the  premises.  Our  Government  should  not 
cease  to  urge  this  measure  until  a  common  stand 
ard  of  value  shall  be  reached  and  established — a 
standard  that  shall  enable  the  United  States  to 
use  the  silver  from  its  mines  as  an  auxiliary  to  gold 
in  settling  the  balances  of  commercial  exchange. 


THE  LETTER  OF  ACCEPTANCE, 

The  strength  of  the  Republic  is  increased  by 
the  multiplication  of  land-holders.  Our  laws 
should  look  to  the  judicious  encouragement  of 
actual  settlers  on  the  public  domain,  which  should 
henceforth  be  held  as  a  sacred  trust  for  the  bene 
fit  of  those  seeking  homes.  The  tendency  to 
consolidate  large  tracts  of  land  in  the  ownership 
of  individuals  or  corporations  should,  with  proper 
regard  to  vested  rights,  be  discouraged.  One 
hundred  thousand  acres  of  land  in  the  hands  of  one 
man  is  far  less  profitable  to  the  Nation  in  every 
way  than  when  its  ownership  is  divided  among 
one  thousand  men.  The  evil  of  permitting  large 
tracts  of  the  National  domain  to  be  consolidated 
and  controlled  by  the  few  against  the  many,  is  en 
hanced  when  the  persons  controlling  it  are  aliens. 
It  is  but  fair  that  the  public  land  should  be  dis 
posed  of  only  to  actual  settlers,  and  to  those  who 
are  citizens  of  the  Republic,  or  willing  to  become 
so.  Among  our  National  interests,  one  languishes 
— the  foreign  carrying  trade.  It  was  very  seri 
ously  crippled  in  our  Civil  War,  and  another  blow 
was  given  to  it  in  the  general  substitution  of 
steam  for  sail  in  ocean  traffic.  With  a  frontage 

£>     _ 

on  the  two  great  oceans,  with  a  freightage  larger 
than  that  of  any  other  nation,  we  have  every  in 
ducement  to  restore  our  navigation.  Yet  the 
Government  has  hitherto  refused  its  help.  A  small 
share  of  the  encouragement  given  by  the  Govern 
ment  to  railways  and  to  manufactures,  and  a  small 


JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

share  of-the  capital  and  the  zeal  given  by  our  citi 
zens  to  those  enterprises,  would  have  carried  our 
ships  to  every  sea  and  to  every  port.    A  law  just 
enacted  removes  some  of  the  burdens  upon  our 
navigation,  and  inspires  hope  that  this  great  interest 
may  at  last  receive  its  due  share  of  attention.  All  ef 
forts  in  this  direction  shouldreceive  encouragement. 
This  survey  of  our  condition  as  a  Nation   re 
minds  us  that  material  prosperity  is  but  a  mockery 
if  it  does  not  tend  to   preserve  the  liberty  of  the 
people.     A  free  ballot  is  the   safeguard  of  Re 
publican  institutions,  without  which  no    national 
welfare  is  assured.     A  popular  election,  honestly 
conducted,    embodies   the  very  majesty    of  true 
government.     Ten    millions  of  voters    desire    to 
take  part  in  the  pending  contest.    'The  safety  of 
the  Republic  rests  upon  the  integrity  of  the  ballot, 
upon  the  security  of  suffrage  to  the  citizens.     To 
deposit  a    fraudulent   vote  is   no  worse  a  crime 
against  constitutional  liberty  than   to  obstruct  the 
deposit  of  an  honest  vote.     He  who  corrupts  suf 
frage  strikes  at  the  very  root  of  free  government. 
He  is  the  arch-enemy  of  the  Republic.     He  for 
gets  that  in  trampling  upon  the  rights  of  others  he 
fatally  imperils   his  own   rights.      "It  is  a  good 
land  which  the  Lord  our  God  doth  give  us,"  but 
we  can  maintain  our  heritage  only  by  guarding 
with  vigilance  the    source   of  popular  power.     I 
am,  with  great  respect,  your  obedient  servant, 

JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE    CAMPAIGN    OF    1884. 

A  Bitter  and  Exciting  Political  Contest — The  Standard-Bearers  of  (he  Two 
Parties — Personal  Attacks  upon  Mr.  Blaine-«-The  Mugwump  Defection 
— The  State  Election  in  Maine — Mr  Elaine's  Tour  through  the  Coun 
try — His  Visit  to  New  York — The  Delmonico  Dinner — The  Visit  of 
the  Clergymen — "  Rum,  Romanism  and  Rebellion  " — Some  Reckless 
Lying — Effect  of  the  Mischief — Result  of  the  Election — Mr.  Elaine's 
Comments — The  Cleveland  Administration. 

"  It  was  a  battle  of  the  first  rank  won  by  a  Cap 
tain  of  the  Second."  These  words,  -written  by 
Victor  Hugo  concerning  the  battle  of  Waterloo, 
might  with  entire  justice  be  applied  to  the  Presi 
dential  campaign  of  1884.  It  was  apolitical  con 
test  of  the  greatest  importance  and  of  the  in- 
tensest  interest.  On  one  side,  the  leader  was 
confessedly  the  most  conspicuous  and  most  able 
American  statesman  of  the  time.  On  the  otheiv 
the  leader  was  a  comparatively  unknown  and 
inconspicuous  man,  who,  however  estimable,  was 
not,  even  by  his  most  ardent  partisans,  compared 
with  his  opponent  in  experience  of  public  affairs 
or  in  the  general  qualities  of  leadership  and 
statesmanship.  And  the  contest  by  the  narrow 
est  of  margins,  and  by  virtue  of  a  malice-inspired 
accident  at  the  eleventh  hour,  was  won  by  the 
latter. 

421 


422  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

James  G.  Elaine  was  the  candidate  of  the  Re 
publican  party,  the  party  which  had  elected  every 
President  of  the  United  States  for  nearly  a  quarter 
of  a  century.  With  him  was  associated,  as  candidate 
for  the  Vice-Presidency,  General  John  A.  Logan, 
who  had  been  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  com 
manders  in  the  National  army  during  the  War  of 
the  Rebellion,  an»d  who  since  had  served  with  dis 
tinction  in  both  Houses  of  Congress  and  had  shown 
himself  a  statesman  of  no  mean  rank.  The  Demo 
cratic  candidate  was  Stephen  Grover  Cleveland. 
He  had  been  during  the  war  a  Democrat  of  pro- 
slavery  proclivities.  He  had  begun  his  public  ca 
reer  in  the  city  of  Buffalo,  N.  Y.,  as  Sheriff  and  pub 
lic  hangman  ;  had  been  elected  Mayor  of  that  city 
as  a  "  reform  "  candidate  at  a  time  of  political  up 
heaval  and  transition  ;  and  finally  had  been  elected 
Governor  of  New  York  State  by  the  phenomenal 
majority  of  nearly  200,000- — a  majority  which  he 
owed  to  the  fact  that  about  that  number  of  Re 
publicans  had  at  that  election  refrained  from  vot 
ing  for  their  own  party  candidate  because  of  their 
dissatisfaction  with  the  influences  which  had  se 
cured  his  nomination.  As  Mayor  and  Governor, 
Mr.  Cleveland  had  acquired  a  reputation  for  a 
considerable  degree  -of  executive  ability  and  also 
for  certain  "reform"  qualities,  by  virtue  of  which 
it  was  supposed  that  he  would,  if  elected  Presi 
dent,  introduce  Vnat  were  vaguely  termed  "busi- 
-ness  ru^thod:- "'  into  the  administration  of  his 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884.  423 

office.  He  was  also  known  to  be  in  favor  of 
Free  Trade,  or  "  a  tariff  for  revenue  only,"  as 
against  the  Republican  principle  of  Protection. 
His  associate,  the  candidate  for  the  Vice-Presi 
dency,  was  Thomas  A.  Hendricks,  of  Indiana,  a 
statesman  of  much  higher  rank,  greater  abilities 
and  more  extended  experience. 

The  campaign  between  the  two  parties,  thus 
led,  was  one  of  the  most  bitterly  contested  in  the 
whole  history  of  American  politics.  On  the  Re 
publican  side  it  was  fought  chiefly  on  the  issue  of 
the  tariff.  The  advantages  of  Protection  in  build 
ing  up  American  industries  and  assuring  to 
American  workmen  higher  wages  than  were  paid 
in  other  lands,  were  unceasingly  urged.  The  Dem 
ocrats  spoke  in  favor  of  Free  Trade,  but  did  not 
venture  very  strongly  to  press  that  point.  They 
devoted  their  attention  chiefly  to  personal  attacks 
upon  Mr.  Elaine,  many  of  them  of  an  indescrib 
ably  scurrilous  character.  The  "  Mulligan  letters  " 
were  again  dragged  forth  and  exploited  in  every 
possible  manner.  One  of  Mr.  Elaine's  most  ear 
nest  and  able  champions,  Mr.  William  Walter 
Phelps,  of  New  Jersey,  made  a  conclusive  reply 
to  this  attack,  amply  disposing  of  all  the  renewed 
charges  against  Mr.  Elaine.  But  this  did  not 
silence  the  latter's  enemies.  They  kept  harping 
upon  the  same  worn  strings  all  through  the  cam 
paign.  The  absurd  Shipherd  business  was  also 
pitchforked  into  fresh  notoriety.  More  than  all 


424  JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

this,  the  sanctity  of  Mr.  Elaine's  private  life  was 
invaded  and  the  most  shocking  libels  were  uttered 
against  his  domestic  relations. 

Nor  were  Mr.  Elaine's  opponents  confined  to 
the  Democratic  party.  A  considerable  number 
of  Republicans,  inspired  by  jealousy  or  envy,  re 
fused  to  support  him.  Another  section  of  that 
party,  favoring  Free  Trade,  openly  repudiated  him 
and  went  over  in  a  body  to  the  support  of  Mr. 
Cleveland.  They  were  at  first  called  Indepen 
dents,  but  afterwards  received  the  permanent  ap 
pellation  of  Mugwumps.  The  real  source  of 
their  opposition  to  Mr.  Elaine,  as  stated  by  their 
most  conspicuous  leader,  was  his  well-known 
championship  of  the  protective  tariff  system.  They 
pretended,  however,  to  be  opposed  to  him  on  the 
ground  of  his  alleged  official  corruption  in  con 
nection  with  the  "  Mulligan  letters  "  business,  and 
also  because  of  his  intense  partisanship  and  so- 
called  machine  politics.  The  newspaper  organs 
of  the  Mugwumps  were  the  most  persistent  and 
bitter  of  all  the  critics  of  Mr.  Elaine. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  mass  of  the  Republican 
party  rallied  with  almost  unprecedented  enthu 
siasm  to  the  support  of  their  brilliant  and  accom 
plished  leader.  The  more  bitter  were  the  attacks 
on  him,  the  more  ardent  and  energetic  were  his 
friends  in  repelling  "  them.  Nor  were  his  sup 
porters  confined  to  those  hitherto  known  as  Re 
publicans.  His  advocacy  of  the  rights  of  American 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884.  425 

labor  made  him  the  champion  of  working  men 
everywhere  and  drew  to  his  support  thousands 
who  had  hitherto  been  identified  with  the  Demo 
cratic  party.  His  vigorous  assertion  of  the  rights 
of  American  citizens  in  all  parts  of  the  world 
during  his  brief  term  as  Secretary  of  State,  and 
his  well-known  sympathy  with  the  struggle  for 
Home  Rule  in  Ireland,  won  for  him  the  votes  of 
thousands  of  Americans  of  Irish  origin.  So  it  ap 
peared  to  be  for  him  a  winning  battle,  and  down 
to  the  very  day  of  the  election  his  friends  were 
confident  of  his  success. 

During  the  early  part  of  the  campaign  Mr.  Elaine 
remained  quietly  at  his  home  in  Maine,  leaving 
the  active  conduct  of  the  struggle  to  his  friends. 
During  the  State  campaign  in  Maine,  however, 
which  culminated  in  the  election  of  a  Governor 
on  Septemer  8th,  two  months  before  the  Presiden 
tial  election,  he  attended  a  number  of  political 
meetings  and  made  addresses.  Although  his  re 
marks  were  not  of  a  partisan  political  character, 
they  greatly  encouraged  the  Republicans  and 
aided  them  in  their  campaign,  and  the  splendid 
majority  of  nearly  20,000  by  which  the  Republican 
candidate  for  Governor  was  elected  was  rightly 
considered  to  be  due,  in  great  part,  to  Mr.  Elaine's 
influence.  Late  in  the  evening  of  the  day  of  the 
State  election  a  great  multitude  assembled  before 
Mr.  Elaine's  house  at  Augusta,  to  pay  him  their 
tribute  of  respect  and  congratulations,  and  he 


426  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

made  tt  onef  address  to  them.  He  referred  in 
,  moderate  but  emphatic  terms  to  the  issues  of  the 
National  campaign,  and  explained  why  he  had 
not  more  actively  participated  in  the  State  cam 
paign.  "  I  do  not  disguise  from  you,"  he  said, 
"that  I  am  profoundly  gratified  with  the  result. 
Desirous  of  the  good  opinion  of  all  men,  I  am 
sure  I  esteem  beyond  all  others  the  good  opinion 
of  these  excellent  people,  among  whom  I  have 
passed  nearly  all  the  years  of  my  adult  life,  and 
who  have  known  me  intimately  from  young  man 
hood  as  a  fellow-citizen,  neighbor  and  friend." 

Republican  leaders  throughout  the  country  now 
began  to  argue,  most  reasonably,  that  if  Mr. 
Elaine's  mere  presence  in  Maine  had  effected 
such  good  results,  his  participation  in  the  party 
canvass  in  other  States  would  materially  aid  the 
prosecution  of  the  campaign.  Mr.  Elaine  was  re- 
lucant  to  make  what  is  called  a  personal  canvass, 
but  he  finally  yielded  to  the  earnest  solicitations 
of  his  friends,  and  on  September  i  ;th  left  Augusta 
for  New  York.  His  progress  through  the  States 
of  Maine,  New  Hampshire  and  Massachusetts 
was  marked  everywhere  by  extraordinary  en 
thusiasm.  At  Boston  that  night  he  made  a  very 
brief  address  to  about  20,000  people  who  had 
gathered  in  the  street  before  his  hotel.  The  next 
day  he  proceeded  by  train  to  New  York,  stopping 
at  Worcester,  Palmer,  Springfield  and  Hartford  for 
a  few  minutes  each  to  exchange  greetings  with  the 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884.  ^2J 

multitudes  who  had  assembled  to  do  him  honor.  He 
was  welcomed  to  New  York  by  an  almost  unprece 
dented  demonstration  of  popular  enthusiasm. 
Among  the  many  eminent  people  who  called  upon 
him  at  his  hotel  the  next  day  was  General  Grant, 
who  had  a  long  and  pleasant  conversation  with 
him  and  expressed  confidence  in  his  election.  In 
the  evening  he  had  an  informal  reception  at  the 
headquarters  of  the  Republican  National  Com 
mittee,  and  appeared  for  a  few  minutes  on  the 
platform  in  front  of  the  building  to  receive  the 
greetings  of  50,000  or  60,000  citizens  who 
crowded  the  street.  He  remained  in  New  York 
until  the  evening  of  September  22d,  when  he 
set  out  for  Philadelphia.  All  the  way  across  New 
Jersey  the  train  was  saluted  by  enthusiastic  thou 
sands,  and  in  Philadelphia  an  enormous  multi 
tude  welcomed  him. 

Mr.  Elaine  set  out  for  Ohio,  where  his  presence 
was  especially  desired,  on  September  24th,  going 
by  the  way  of  the  New  York  Central  and  Hudson 
River  Railroad.  At  every  station  where  the  train 
stopped  great  crowds  were  assembled  and  Mr. 
Elaine  spoke  a  few  words  of  personal  greeting. 
This  was  clone  at  Peekskill,  Cold  Spring,  Fishkill, 
Poughkeepsie,  Hudson,  Albany,  Schenectady, 
Fonda,  Fort  Plain,  Little  Falls,  Herkimer,  Cana- 
stota,  Utica,  Rome,  and  Syracuse.  At  the  last- 
named  place  he  remained  over  night,  and  the  next 
morning  resumed  his  journey.  Brief  stops  were 


428  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

made  at  Auburn,  Seneca  Falls,  Geneva,  Phelps, 
Canandaigua,  Batavia,  and  Rochester.  At  Buffalo 
he  remained  over  night,  and  was  welcomed  by  an 
outpouring  of  fully  70,000  people  in  that  city,  the 
home  of  his  rival.  The  next  day  he  completed 
his  journey  to  Ohio,  stopping  at  Dunkirk,  West- 
field  and  Erie.  Brief  stops  were  made  at  various 
points  in  Ohio  before  reaching  Cleveland,  where 
a  tremendous  demonstration  was  made  by  at  least 
100,000  people.  In  this  State,  he  visited  Toledo, 
Dayton,  Cincinnati,  Columbus,  and  various  other 
places,  making  brief  addresses  and  greatly  in 
spiring  and  encouraging  his  party  friends  every 
where. 

Early  in  October  he  visited  West  Virginia  and 
made  addresses  at  various  points.  Then  he 
returned  to  Ohio  and  made  a  second  tour  of  the 
State.  October  i4th  found  him  in  Michigan.  He 
visited  a  number  of  cities  in  that  State,  and  then 
proceeded  to  Indiana.  Some  of  his  strongest 
speeches  of  the  whole  campaign  were  made  in 
this  State,  and  at  Indianapolis,  the  home  of  the 
Democratic  candidate  for  the  Vice-Presidency,  he 
was  greeted  by  one  of  the  greatest  public  gather 
ings  ever  seen  in  that  city.  On  October  26th,  he 
visited  Milwaukee  and  made  a  stirring  speech. 
Here  an  address  was  presented  to  him  by  a  large 
club  of  Irish  Americans.  Returning  to  Chicago, 
he  reviewed  an  organized  procession  of  30,000 
men  who  paraded  past  his  hotel,  and  received 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884.  429 

many  tributes  of  esteem  and  pledges  of  support 
from  the  people  of  that  city. 

His  return  to  New  York  was  made  by  the  way 
of  the  Erie  Railroad,  and  at  the  various  stopping 
places  through  New  York  State  and  New  Jersey 
similar  demonstrations  were  made  to  those  which 
had  marked  his  progress  westward  the  month  be 
fore.  On  his  arrival  in  New  York  City,  the  entire 
metropolis  seemed  to  come  out  to  welcome  him, 
and  every  street  echoed  with  the  sound  of  marching 
feet,  and  the  familiar  battle  cry,  "  Elaine  !  Elaine  i 
James  G.  Elaine  !  "  Soon  after  his  arrival  he  was 
called  upon  to  review  a  parade  of  25,000  business 
men  of  the  city,  including  many  of  the  leaders  in 
all  branches  of  trade  and  industry. 

While  in  the  West,  Mr.  Elaine  had  received  a 
letter  from  the  Hon.  William  M.  Evarts  and  about 
two  hundred  other  eminent  citizens  of  New  York, 
inviting  him  to  dine  as  their  guest  at  Delmonico's 
well-known  hotel  on  some  evening  in  the  last 
week  of  the  campaign.  He  had  replied  to  it, 
from  Evansville,  indicating  Wednesday  evening, 
October  29th,  as  the  elate  most  acceptable  to  him. 
The  company  that  gathered  on  that  occasion  was 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  ever  seen  in  New 
York.  Mr.  Evarts  presided,  Mr.  Elaine  sitting  at 
his  right  hand,  and  the  Hon.  L.  P.  Morton,  United 
States  Minister  to  France,  at  his  left.  Other 
guests  at  that  table  were  Noah  Davis,  Presiding 
Justice  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  New  York  ; 


430  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

ex-Governor  Cornell,  of  New  York ;  Governor 
Hoyt,  of  Pennsylvania  ;  Cyrus  W.  Field,  the  con 
structor  of  the  Atlantic  Cable ;  and  Charles  E. 
Coon,  Assistant  Secretary  of  the  Treasury.  At 
the  other  tables  were  many  of  the  most  eminent 
and  respected  men  of  New  York  City,  represent 
ing  all  the  learned  professions  and  all  branches  of 
trade  and  industry.  Various  addresses  were 
made,  but  the  chief  interest  of  the  evening 
centred  upon  that  of  Mr.  Elaine  himself,  which 
was  as  follows  : 

"It  is  a  great  reversal  of  positions,  Mr.  Presi 
dent  (addressing  Mr.  Evarts),  that  makes  me 
hear  you  ascribe  leadership  to  me.  (Applause.) 
For  it  has  been  my  duty  and  my  pleasure  in  these 
long  years  to  follow  you  (applause  and  cheers)  ; 
to  learn  from  you  wisdom  in  public  affairs,  and 
join  with  my  countrymen  in  ascribing  to  you  not 
merely  the  great  merit  of  leadership  in  the  noblest 
of  professions,  but  to  yield  our  admiration  for  the 
singular  success  which  has  given  to  you  the  op 
portunity  to  lead  in  the  three  most  important 
cases  ever  pleaded  by  a  member  of  the  American 
bar.  (Applause.)  First,  in  resisting  your  own 
party  in  what  you  deemed  the  impolicy,  if  not  the 
madness  of  impeaching  a  President  (cries  of 
"Good!  Good!  "and  cheers);  second,  in  main 
taining  before  the  greatest  international  tribunal 
that  has  ever  assembled  in  modern  times  the 
rights  of  your  country  and  obtaining  redress  for 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884.  43  I 

wrongs  to  her  that  grew  out  of  the  Civil  War 
(applause)  ;  and  third,  in  perhaps  averting  an 
other  civil  war  by  pleading  before  an  Electoral 
Commission  a  peaceful  settlement  of  the  angriest 
political  discussion  that  ever  arose  between  the 
parties  in  the  United  States.  (Applause  and 
cheers ) 

"I  turn  now  from  your  President  to  thank  you, 
merchants,  professional  men,  leaders  in  the  great 
and  complex  society  of  New  York — to  thank  you 
for  receiving  me,  not  merely  at  this  festal  board, 
but  also  in  that  far  more  impressive  reception 
which  the  close  of  this  rainy  day  witnesses  in 
your  broad  and  beautiful  avenue.  I  could  not,  I 
am  sure,  by  any  possible  stretch  of  vanity  take 
this  large  and  generous  demonstration  to  myself. 
It  is  given  to  me  only  for  the  time  as  the  repre 
sentative  of  the  principles  which  you  and  I  hold 
in  common,  touching  those  great  interests  which 
underlie,  as  we  believe,  the  prosperity  of  the 
Nation.  (Applause.)  And  it  is  fitting  that  the 
commercial  metropolis  of  the  continent  should 
lead ;  it  is  fitting  that  the  financial  centre  of  the 
continent  should  lead  ;  it  is  fitting  that  this  great 
city,  second  only  in  the  world,  should  give  an  ex 
pression  to  the  continent  of  its  views  and  its 
judgment  on  the  important  questions  to  be  decided 
Tuesday  next  by  the  American  people.  (Cheers.) 

•'And  I  venture — not  that  I  know  it  so  well  as 
you,  but  that  I  am  spokesman  for  the  present — I 


432  JAMES    G. 

venture  to  remind  you,  men  of  New  York,  with 
your  wealth  and  your  just  influence  and  your 
magnificent  prestige,  that  seventy  per  cent,  of  the 
entire  property  of  this  city  has  been  acquired 
since  Abraham  Lincoln  was  inaugurated,  the  4th 
of  March,  1861.  I  should  not  mention  here  a 
fact  of  percentage  and  of  statistics  if  it  did  not 
carry  with  it  an  argument  and  a  moral.  The 
common  apprehension  in  regard  to  New  York  is 
that  it  is  simply  a  great  commercial  city — so  great 
that  its  exports  and  imports  represent  largely  the 
major  part  of  all  that  is  exported  from  or  imported 
into  the  United  States.  That  we  all  know.  But 
we  are  often  prone  to  forget  that  New  York  is  the 
largest  manufacturing  city  in  the  world,  with  per 
haps  a  single  exception  ;  that  of  Jthe  $6,000,000,000 
of  manufactures  annually  produced  in  the  United 
States,  this  great  Empire  State  furnishes  one-fifth 
—$1,200,000,000 — of  which  this  great  Empire 
City  produces  $500,000,000.  And  from  these 
facts  comes  that  great  sympathy,  that  identity  of 
interest  which  has  moved  the  previously  existing 
conflicts  between  what  have  been  known  as  the 
manufacturing  and  the  commercial  interests,  and 
has  taught  us  that  there  can  be  no  true  prosperity 
in  the  country  unless  the  three  great  interests 
comprehended  by  agriculture,  manufactures  and 
commerce  are  acting  in  harmony,  the  one  with  the 
other,  and  joining  together  for  a  common  end  and 
for  the  common  good.  (Cheers.) 


m 


WM.   McKINLEY. 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884.  435 

"  It  is  usually  thought  that  a  change  of  Govern 
ment  means  but  little  ;  that  we  come  together 
with  our  votes  a  given  day  and  count  them  as  the 
sun  goes  down,  and  one  party  goes  out  and 
another  comes  in.  But,  gentlemen,  it  is  worth 
while  to  remember  that  the  United  States  is  pro 
ceeding  to-day  upon  a  given  basis  of  public  policy 
— I  might  say  upon  a  given  series  of  public  policies. 
We  have  a  great  financial  system  ;  we  have  a 
great  currency  system  ;  we  have  an  important 
National  credit ;  we  have  a  levying  of  duties,  as 
has  been  so  well  described  by  your  distinguished 
President  of  the  evening,  so  adjusted  that  the  in 
dustries  of  the  country  are  fostered  and  encour 
aged  thereby  ;  we  have  three  important  constitu 
tional  amendments  that  grew  out  of  the  war, 
upon  which,  at  this  hour  and  in  the  hours,  and  the 
days,  and  the  weeks,  and  the  years  to  follow, 
great  issues  hang  in  this  country.  Are  we — if  we 
should  be  invited  to  step  down  and  out  and  our 
opponents  to  step  up  and  in  (applause) — are  we 
to  understand  that  these  policies  are  to  be  re 
versed?  (Cries  of  "Yes!  Yes!")  Then  if  we 
are  to  understand  that  they  are  to  be  reversed  we 
should,  one  and  all,  prepare  for  a  grand  disaster. 
("  Hear  !  Hear  !"  and  cheers.)  For  a  single  illus 
tration,  let  me  recall  to  your  minds  that  the  repeal 
of  ten  lines  in  the  National  Banking  Act  would 
restore  to  vitality  and  vigor  the  old  State-bank 
system  from  which  we  had  happily  escaped,  as  wre 
25 


436  JAMES  G.   BLAINE. 

thought,  for  all  the  remainder  of  our  lives. 
(Applause.) 

"If  these  policies  are  to  be  reversed,  you  will 
have  to  recast  your  accounts  and  review  your 
ledgers  and  prepare  for  a  new  and,  I  may  say,  a 
dangerous  departure  ;  and  if  these  policies  are 
not  to  be  reversed,  they  will  certainly  be  better 
maintained  by  the  great  party  which  originated 
them  and  has  thus  far  sustained  them  with  vigor 
and  success.  (Applause.) 

"As  I  have  already  said,  we  speak  of  New 
York  as  the  great  exporting  and  importing  city, 
and  from  that  perhaps  we  often  give  an  exagger 
ated  importance,  relatively  speaking,  to  our 
foreign  trade,  because  this  magnificent  metropolis 
never  would  have  attained  its  grandeur  and  its 
wealth  upon  the  foreign  trade  alone.  We  should 
never  forget,  important  as  that  trade  is,  represent 
ing  the  enormous  sum  of  $1,500,000,000  annually, 
that  it  sinks  into  insignificance  and  is  dwarfed  out 
of  sight  when  we  think  of  those  vast  domestic 
exchanges  of  which  New  York  is  the  admitted 
centre  and  which  annually  exceed  $2,000,000,000. 
(Applause.) 

"  Our  foreign  trade  naturally  brings  to  our  con 
sideration  the  foreign  relations  of  this  country,  so 
well  described  by  my  distinguished  friend  as 
always  simple  and  sincere.  It  is  the  safeguard  of 
Republics  that  they  are  not  adapted  to  war. 
(Cheers.)  I  mean  aggressive  war.  (Cheers.) 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884.  437 

And  it  is  the  safeguard  of  this  Rupublic  that  in  a 
defensive  war  we  can  defy  the  world.  (Loud 
cheering.)  This  Nation  to-day  is  in  profound 
peace  with  the  world.  (Cheers.)  But,  in  my 
judgment,  it  has  before  it  a  great  duty  which  will 
not  only  make  that  profound  peace  permanent,  but 
shall  set  such  an  example  as  will  absolutely 
abolish  war  on  this  continent,  and  by  a  great 
example  and  a  lofty  moral  precedent  shall  ulti 
mately  abolish  it  in  other  continents.  (Great  and 
long-continued  cheering.)  I  am  justified  in  say 
ing  that  every  one  of  the  seventeen  independent 
Powers  of  North  and  South  America  is  not  only 
willing  but  ready — is  not  only  ready  but  eager — 
to  enter  into  a  solemn  compact  in  a  congress  that 
may  be  called  in  the  name  of  peace  to  agree  that 
if,  unhappily,  differences  shall  arise — as  differ 
ences  will  arise  between  men  and  nations — they 
shall  be  settled  upon  the  peaceful  and  Christian 
basis  of  arbitration.  (Great  cheering.) 

''And,  as  I  have  often  said  before,  I  am  glad  to 
repeat  in  this  great  centre  of  civilization  and 
power  that  in  my  judgment  no  National  spectacle, 
no  international  spectacle,  no  continental  spec 
tacle,  could  be  more  grand  than  that  the  Repub 
lics  of  the  Western  World  should  meet  together 
and  solemnly  agree  that  neither  the  soil  of 
North  nor  that  of  South  America  shall  be  here 
after  stained  by  brothers'  blood.  (Prolonged 
cheering.) 


438  JAMES   G.  8LAINE. 

"The  Republican  party,  gentlemen,  cannot  be 
said  to  be  on  trial.  (Cheers.)  To  be  on  trial 
implies  something  to  be  tried  for.  ("Right!" 
"That's  so!"  and  cheers.)  The  Republican 
party  in  its  twenty-three  years  of  rulership  has 
advanced  the  interests  of  this  country  far  beyond 
that  of  any  of  its  predecessors  in  power.  It  has 
elevated  the  standard  of  America — it  has  increased 
its  wealth  in  a  ratio  never  before  realized,  and,  I 
may  add,  never  before  dreamed  of.  (Great 
cheering-.) 

o  / 

"Statistics,  I  know,  are  dry  ;  and  I  have  dwelt 
so  much  upon  them  in  the  last  six  weeks  that 
they  might  be  supposed  to  be  especially  dry  to  me. 
And  yet  I  never  can  forget  the  eloquence  of  the 
figures  which  tell  us  that  the  wealth  of  this  great 
Empire  State  when  the  Republican  party  took  the 
reins  of  government  was  estimated  at  $1,800,- 
000,000,  and  that  twenty  years  afterward,  under 
the  influence  of  an  industrial  and  financial  system 
for  which  that  party  is  proudly  responsible  (great 
applause),  under  the  influence  of  that  industrial 
and  financial  system,  the  same  tests  which  gave 
you  $1,800,000,000  of  property  in  1860  gave  you 
$6,300,000,000  in  1880.  (Loud  and  long-con 
tinued  cheering.)  There >  has  never  been  in  all 
the  history  of  financial  progress — there  has  never 
been  in  all  the  history  of  the  world — any  parallel 
to  this  ;  and  I  am  sure,  gentlemen,  that  the  Re 
publican  party  is  not  arrogant  nor  over-confident 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884.  439 

when  it  claims  to  itself  the  credit  of  organizing 
and  maintaining  the  industrial  system  which 
gave  to  you  and  your  associates  in  enterprise  the 
equal  and  just  laws  which  enable  you  to  make  this 
marvelous  progress.  (Great  cheering.) 

"As  I  have  said,  that  party  is  not  on  trial. 
If  it  has  made  mistakes,  they  have  been  merged 
and  forgotten  in  the  greater  success  which  has 
corrected  them.  (Cheers.)  If  it  has  had  internal 
differences,  they  are  laid  aside.  (Cheers.)  If  it 
has  had  factional  strife,  I  am  sure  that  has  ceased. 
(Renewed  cheering.)  And  I  am  equally  sure 
that,  looking  to  the  history  of  the  past  and  look 
ing  to  that  great  future  which  we  are  justified  in 
prophesying,  this  Imperial  State  cannot  afford  to 
reverse,  and  therefore  will  not  reverse,  those  great 
policies  upon  which  it  has  grown  and  advanced 
from  glory  to  glory.  (Enthusiastic  cheering.) 

"  I  thank  you,  gentlemen  ;  I  thank  that  larger 
number  with  whom  I  have  already  had  the  plea 
sure  of  exchanging  greetings  to-day,  I  thank  the 
ministers,  the  merchants,  the  lawyers,  the  pro 
fessional  men,  the  mechanics,  the  laboring  men 
of  New  York  (applause),  for  a  cordial  reception, 
an  over-generous  welcome,  which  in  all  the  muta 
tions  of  my  future  life  will  be  to  me  among  the 
proudest  and  most  precious  of  my  memories." 

The  most  important  incident  of  this  visit  to 
New  York,  however,  occurred  a  few  hours  before 
this  banquet,  at  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of 


440  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

October  29th.  At  that  time  the  Fifth  Avenue 
Hotel,  where  Mr.  Elaine  was  staying,  was  visited 
by  hundreds  of  clergymen  of  various  denomina 
tions,  who  assembled  for  the  purpose  of  making 
to  him  a  formal  address.  The  assemblage  was 
called  to  order  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  James  M.  King, 
one  of  the  foremost  ministers  of  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  D. 
Burchard,  a  superannuated  Presbyterian  minister, 
was  made  Chairman,  and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Robert 
S.  McArthur,  one  of  the  best-known  Baptist 
preachers  of  the  city,  was  made  Secretary.  The 
following  resolutions  were  then  presented  by  Dr. 
King,  read  and  unanimously  adopted  : 

"Resolved,  i. — That  we  believe  that  the  triumph  of  the 
principles  of  the  Republican  party  is  essential  to  the  welfare 
of  the  country  and  to  the  /preservation  of  the  results  of  the 
late  civil  strife,  and  consequently  that  the  election  of  its  rep 
resentatives  in  the  persons  of  the  Hon.  James  G.  Elaine  and 
Gen.  John  A.  Logan  is  imperative. 

"  2. — That  we  believe  in  the  purity  of  the  personal  charac 
ter  of  these  standard-bearers,  and  also  believe  in  their  trained 
capacity  as  statesmen  to  meet  the  claims  of  the  high  offices 
for  which  they  are  in  nomination. 

" 3. — That  we  protest  against  the  coronation  of  con 
ceded  personal  impurity  as  represented  by  the  head  of  the 
Democratic  ticket,  and,  while  we  deplore  the  necessity,  we  do 
not  evade  the  responsibility  of  declaring  our  judgment  to  the 
world  of  this  insult  to  Christian  civilization  embodied  in  such 
nomination  for  the  Presidency  of  the  Republic. 

"4. — That  we  are  opposed  to  putting  a  premium  ondisloy- 
*lty  as  presented  by  the  candidate  for  the  Vice-Presidency  of 
the  Democratic  party. 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884.  441 

"  5. — That  we  exhort  all  well-meaning  and  loyal  citizens, 
regardless  of  party,  when  purity  is  at  stake,  not,  by  voting 
for  the  Prohibition  candidate,  to  cast  a  half- vote  for  the  Demo 
cratic  party  with  the  semi-sanction  of  impurity  and 
dissipation,  nor  to  cast  a  whole  vote  for  a  man  whose  name 
is  now  the  conspicuous  synonym  of  incapacity  and  incon- 
tinency. 

"6. — That  we  exhort  our  fellow-citizens  to  cast  one  vote 
for  virtue  in  the  home,  for  protection  for  the  rights  of  the 
humblest  citizens  at  home  and  abroad,  for  protection  for 
American  industries,  for  the  settlement  of  international  dif 
ferences  by  arbitration,  for  the  war  against  polygamy,  for 
decent  treatment  of  Indians,  for  the  preservation  of  the 
results  of  the  wars  of  the  Revolution  and  of  the  Rebellion, 
for  every  sacred  interest  of  our  beloved  country,  by  voting 
the  Republican  ticket  at  the  ensuing  election." 

The  Chairman  then  appointed  as  a  committee 
to  receive  Mr.  Elaine,  when  he  should  come  be 
fore  the  meeting,  Dr.  King,  Dr.  McArthur,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Spear,  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  Brown,  of  the  Jewish  Church,  the  Rev. 
Dr.  J.  G.  Roberts,  of  the  Congregational  Church, 
and  Richard  Lawrence,  of  the  Society  of  Friends. 
The  entire  body  of  clergymen  then  went  out  into 
the  main  corridor  of  the  hotel,  and  presently  Mr. 
Elaine  came  down  the  stairway  leaning  on  the  arm 
of  Dr.  King.  Close  behind  him  were  Mrs.  Elaine, 
Walker  Elaine,  the  daughters  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Elaine,  and  the  Hon.  Levi  P.  Morton.  Mr.  Elaine 
stopped  a  few  steps  from  the  foot  of  the  stairway, 
and  the  Rev.  Dr.  Burchard  ascended  to  his  side 
and  addressed  him  as  follows  : 


442  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

"We  are  very  happy  to  welcome  you  to  this 
city.  You  see  here  a  representation  of  all  de 
nominations  of  this  city.  You  see  the  large  num 
ber  that  are  represented.  We  are  your  friends, 
Mr.  P'.aine,  and,  notwithstanding  all  the  calumnies 
that  have  been  urged  in  the  papers  against  you, 
we  stand  by  your  side.  (Shouts  of  "  Amen.") 
We  expect  to  vote  for  you  next  Tuesday.  We 
have  higher  expectations,  which  are  that  you  will 
be  the  President  of  the  United  States,  and  that 
you  will  do  honor  to  your  name,  to  the  United 
States,  and  to  the  high  office  you  will  occupy. 
We  are  Republicans,  and  don't  propose  to  leave 
our  party  and  identify  ourselves  with  the  party 
whose  antecedents  have  been  Rum,  Romanism 
and  Rebellion.  We  are  loyal  to  our  flag.  We 
are  loyal  to  you." 

At  the  words  "Rum,  Romanism  and  Rebel 
lion,"  Mr.  Elaine  started  perceptibly  and  an  ex 
pression  of  pained  surprise  flashed  over  his  face. 
But  he  said  nothing  at  the  moment  concerning 
them,  and  they  passed  unnoticed  by  most  of  those 
/ho  were  present.  The  other  members  of  the 
committee  then  addressed  Mr.  Elaine  briefly,  and 
he  responded  in  the  following  terms  : 

"  MR.  CHAIRMAN  AND  REVEREND  GENTLEMEN  : 
— This  is  altogether  a  very  remarkable  assem 
blage — remarkable  beyond  any  of  which  I  have 
known  in  the  history  of  political  contests  in  the 
United  States — and  it  does  not  need  my  personal 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884.  443 

assurance  that  you  should  know  that  I  am  very 
deeply  impressed  by  it.  I  do  not  feel  that  I  am 
speaking  to  these  hundreds  of  men  merely.  I  am 
speaking  to  the  great  congregations  and  the  great 
religious  opinion  which  is  behind  them,  and,  as 
they  represent  the  great  Christian  bodies,  I  know 
and  realize  the  full  weight  of  that  which  you  say 
to  me  and  of  the  influence  which  you  tender  me. 
Were  it  to  me  personally,  I  confess  that  I  should 
be  overcome  by  the  compliment  and  the  weight 
of  confidence  which  it  carries,  but  I  know  that  it 
is  extended  to  me  as  the  representative  of  the 
party  whose  creed  and  whose  practices  are  in 
harmony  with  the  churches.  The  Republican 
party,  from  its  very  outset,  stood  upon  the  im 
pregnable  platform  of  opposition  to  the  extension 
of  human  slavery,  and  stood  on  that  platform  till 
it  was  drifted  by  the  hostility  it  provoked  into  a  . 
larger  assertion  of  national  sovereignty  and 
thence  into  a  bloody  conflict  to  maintain  it.  From 
that  onward  I  defy  any  man  to  point  to  a  single 
measure  of  the  Republican  party  which  could 
not  challenge  the  approbation  of  Christian  min 
isters  and  the  approval  of  God.  And  when,  as 
one  of  the  reverend  speakers  has  said,  I  narrowed 
the  issue  when  I  spoke  of  it  (coming  down  to  a 
question  of  the.  tariff),  I  did  not  mean  to  exclude 
therefrom — I  could  not  mean  it — that  great  history 
of  the  party  which  is  its  wealth  and  its  creed,  and 
which 'gives  to  you  and  to  all  that  stand  behind 


444  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

you  the  assurance  that,  whatever  issue  it  attempts 
to  enforce,  it  will  do  it  in  good  faith.  They  can 
no  more  separate  a  party  from  its  history  than 
you  can  separate  a  man  from  his  character,  and 
when  the  great  make-up  of  public  opinion  is  ready 
to  take  into  account  the  origin,  progress,  the 
measures,  the  character  of  the  party,  and  the 
character  of  its  public  men. 

"What  I  meant  by  saying  that  the  tariff  was 
the  conclusive  issue  was  that  it  steps  to  the  fore 
front,  not  in  exclusion  of  a  thousand  other  im 
portant  issues  ;  but  for  this  critical  occasion,  and 
at  the  close  of  this  great  campaign,  it  stands  forth 
as  that  issue  which  represents  bread  to  the  hun 
gry,  clothing  to  the  naked,  and  prosperity  to  the 
entire  people.  And  the  tariff  is,  therefore,  merely 
as  a  national  issue,  distinct  and  separate  from  the 
great  moral  issues,  because,  as  I  have  said  before 
Western  audiences,  I  say  here,  you  cannot  im 
press  a  man  if  he  is  hungry  with  any  other 
thought  than  that  he  shall  be  fed.  You  cannot 

o 

impress  man  if  he  is  naked  with  any  other 
thought  than  that  he  shall  be  clothed,  and  there 
fore  that  public  policy  and  statesmanship  is 
highest  and  best  that  attends  to  the  primary 
needs  of  human  nature  first,  and  says,  here  is 
bread  for  the  hungry,  here  is  clothing  for  the 
naked.  And  the  tariff,  which  protects  the  Ameri 
can  laborer  in  his  wages,  the  American  capitalist 
in  his  investments,  the  inventive  talent  in  the 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884.  *** 

country  in  its  enterprise,  is  the  issue  which  lies  at 
the  very  foundation  of  the  success  of  the  Christian 
religion.     When  you  send  out  your  missions  to 
the  destitute  places    you  clothe  the  little  naked 
children  and  give  them    food    at   the  first    step. 
Therefore,  I  repeat,  that  the  great  conflict  of  1884 
closes  with  the  people  of  the  United  States  stand 
ing  face  to  face  in  two    parties,    saying    whether 
they  will  adhere  to  that  policy  of  protection  which 
has    trebled    the    wealth  of  the  United  States  in 
twenty  years,  or  whether  they  will  abandon  it  and 
return  once  more   to  the    failing    theory  of  free 
trade.      ("Never!     Never!")     It   involves  other 
issues,  too.     No  nation  can  grow  so  powerful  as 
the  United  States  has  grown  and  is  growing,  con 
tinually  enlarging  its  relations  with  other  nations. 
As  these  relations  become  so   enlarged  they  be 
come  complicated,  and  therefore  the  foreign  policy 
of  the  United  States  goes  right    along  with  its 
domestic  policy — supplements  and  complements 
it — and  we  cannot  in  any  affair  of  our  destiny  and 
our  policy  separate  one  from  the  other. 

"  Now,  gentleman  of  the  church,  I  address  an 
earnest  word  to  you.  The  policy  of  the  United 
States  in  the  past  and  in  the  future  must  be  one 
of  broad,  liberal  Christian  principles,  and  in  that 
policy  it  must  be  one  in  my  judgment  which  draws 
nearer  within  the  circle  of  the  sympathies  of  the 
United  States  those  other  struggling  Republics 
of  North  and  South  America,  which  bring  them 


446  JAMES   G.  BLAINE. 

first  into  trade  relations  and  then  into  close  per 
sonal  and  moral  relations,  and  I  believe  that  we 
shall  not  only  have  the  great  gain  that  comes  from 
intercourse,  but  we  shall  enlarge  the  civilization 
of  the  Anglo-Saxon  until  its  limits  shall  include 
the  most  Southern  point  of  the  continent. 

"  I  did  not  intend,  in  accepting  and  acknowledg 
ing  the  great  sense  of  obligation  I  feel  for  this 
honor,  to  go  into  a  prolonged  political  speech.  I 
have  but  indicated  two  leading  points  which  I 
think  are  involved  in  the  pending  election.  It 
only  remains  for  me  to  say  to  you  that  I  recognize 
at  its  full  worth — and  its  full  worth  is  very  great — 
the  meaning  of  this  assemblage.  We  have  no 
union  of  Church  and  State,  but  we  have  proved 
that  the  Church  is  stronger  without  the  State, 
and  we  have  proved  that  no  State  can  be  strong 
without  the  Church.  Let  us  go  forward  as  we 
have  gone,  the  State  growing  and  strengthening 
by  the  example  of  the  Church,  and  the  Church 
growing  and  strengthening  by  liberal  co-opera 
tion  with  all  the  great  reforms  which  it  is  the 
immediate  province  of  the  Government  to  forward 
and  improve.  Gentlemen,  I  thank  you  again,  and 
bid  you  a  very  cordial  good-morning." 

Hearty  cheers  were  then  given  by  the  assembled 
clergymen  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Elaine,  and  the 
remarkable  gathering  dispersed.  On  October  3oth 
Mr.  Elaine  was  received  at  two  or  three  enor 
mous  gatherings  in  Brooklyn  and  on  the  following 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884.  447 

day  one  of  the  largest  political  parades  ever  seen 
in  New  York  City  was  made  in  his  honor,  there 
being  in  line  organized  clubs  from  Brooklyn, 
Newark,  Albany,  Philadelphia  and  elsewhere.  Mr. 
Elaine  then  set  out  for  his  home  in  Maine. 

Dr.  Burchard's  unfortunate  expression,  "Rum, 
Romanism  and  Rebellion,"  did  not  pass  unnoticed 
by  Mr.  Blaine's  enemies.  Up  to  this  point  his 
campaign  had  been  a  prosperous  one,  and  had 
the  election  been  held  before  Dr.  Burchard's 
speech  was  made  there  is  no  doubt  but  that  he 
would  have  been  handsomely  elected.  His 
despairing  enemies  grasped  with  exultant  energy 
at  the  opportunity  which  that  phrase  afforded  of 
alienating  some  of  his  supporters.  The  words 
were  instantly  taken  up  and  spread  broadcast 
throughout  the  country  by  telegram,  in  the  news 
papers,  and  in  printed  circulars,  as  well  as  by 
word  of  mouth.  With  unblushing  mendacity  it 
was  asserted  that  Mr.  Blaine  himself  had  uttered 
the  offensive  expression.  Handbills  containing  the 
words,  fixing  full  responsibility  for  them  upon  Mr. 
Blaine,  and  construing  them  as  an  expression  of 
his  personal  hostility  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
Church,  were  distributed  by  tens  of  thousands  to 
the  members  of  all  congregations  of  that  faith.  In 
this  way  hundreds  and  perhaps  thousands  of 
Roman  Catholics  were  led  to  abandon  their  sup 
port  of  Mr.  Blaine.  By  the  perversity  of  fate  this 
incident  occurred  long  enough  in  advance  of  the 


448  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

election  to  allow  these  calumnies  to  be  spread 
throughout  the  land  and  to  do  the  mischief  that 
was  intended,  but  not  long  enough  to  allow 
explanation  to  be  made  and  Mr.  Blaine  to  be 
vindicated. 

On  reaching  New  Haven,  on  November  ist, 
Mr.  Blaine  made  the  following  address  referring 
to  this  matter : 

"There  has  been  placed  in  my  hands  since  my 
arrival  in  New  Haven  an  address  from  the  clergy 
men  of  this  city  expressing  their  respect  and  con 
fidence,  and,  through  the  person  who  delivered  it, 
the  assurance  that  in  matters  of  public  right  and 
in  matters  of  public  participation  under  the  laws 
and  Constitution  of  the  United  States  they  know 
no  sect  ;  they  know  no  Protestant,  no  Catholic, 
no  Hebrew,  but  the  equality  of  all.  ("  Good  !  " 
and  cheers.)  In  the  city  of  Hartford  I  had  a  letter 
put  into  my  hands  asking  me  why  I  charged  the 
Democratic  party  with  being  inspired  by  rum, 
Romanism  and  rebellion.  (A  voice,  "You  never 
said  that.")  My  answer,  in  the  first  place,  is  that 
they  put  in  my  mouth  an  unfortunate  expression 
of  another  man  ;  and,  in  the  next  place,  it  gives 
me  an  opportunity  to  say,  at  the  close  of  the 
campaign,  trfat  in  public  speeches  which  I  have 
made  I  have  refrained  carefully  and  instinctively 
from  making  any  disrespectful  allusion  to  the 
Democratic  party.  I  differ  from  that  party  pro 
foundly  on  matters  of  principle,  but  I  have  too 


THE  CAMPAIGN'  OF  1884.  449 

much  respect  for  the  millions  of  my  countrymen 
.  whom  it  embraces  to  assail  it  with  epithets  or 
abuse.      ("  Good  !  Good  !  "  and  cheers.)      In  the 
next  place,   I  am  sure  that  I  am  the  last  man  in  the 
United    States  who  would  make    a  disrespectful 
allusion  to  another  man's  religion.     The  United 
States  guarantees  freedom  of  religious    opinion, 
and  before  the  law  and  under  the  Constitution 
the  Protestant    and  the  Catholic  and  the  Hebrew 
stand  entitled  to  absolutely  the  same  recognition 
and  the  same  protection    (loud  cheering)  ;  and  if 
disrespectful  allusion  is  here  to  be  made  against 
the  religion  of  any  man,  as  I  have  said,  I  am  the 
last  man  to  make  it ;  though  Protestant  by  convic 
tion  and  connected   with  a  Protestant  church,  I 
should   esteem   myself  of  all  men  the  most  de 
graded    if,  under  any    pressure    or    under  any 
temptation,  I  could  in  any  presence  make  a  disre 
spectful  allusion  to  that  ancient  faith  in  which  my 
mother  lived  and   died.      (Enthusiastic  and  long- 
continued  cheering.) 

"The  question  now  before  the  people  of  the 
United  States  is  not  a  religious  one.  The  question 
to  be  settled  in  this  election  is  one  that  comes  home 
to  the  door-sill  and  the  fireside  of  every  American 
citizen.  We  have  enjoyed  in  this  country  for  the 
last  twenty-three  years  the  advantage  of  a  pro 
tective  tariff.  There  is  not  a  man  within  sound 
of  my  voice,  there  is  not  a  man  in  Connecticut, 
there  is  not  a  man  in  New  England,  there  is  not 


45  O  JAMES   G.  BLAINE. 

a  man  in  the  United  States,  who  is  not  directly 
or  indirectly  interested  in  the  protective  tariff. 
(Cheers.)  I  see  before  me  a  large  assemblage, 
including,  doubtless,  many  who  earn  their  bread 
in  the  sweat  of  their  faces,  and  to  whom  the  daily 
wages  of  labor  is  a  matter  of  great  importance. 
I  beg  to  remind  them  that  the  only  agency  which 
secures  them  higher  wages  for  their  labor  than  a 
man  in  the  British  Isles  receives  for  the  same 
labor,  is  the  protective  tariff.  (Cheers.)  When 
I  look  abroad  in  the  State,  and  when  I  examine 
your  statistics,  I  find  that  Connecticut  has  doubled 
its  wealth  in  the  last  twenty  years,  and  I  submit 
that  that  rapid  ratio  of  increase  in  thrift,  inde 
pendence  and  progress  is  a  direct  result  of  the 
protective  tariff.  (Loud  cheering.)  So  that  every 
man,  whether  he  be  a  capitalist  or  laborer,  whether 
he  be  manufacturer  or  operative,  finds  that  the 
question  of  protecting  American  industry  enters 
into  the  warp  and  woof  of  his  daily  life.  The 
Republican  party  is  nothing  if  it  is  not  protective  ; 
it  is  a  cardinal  doctrine  in  the  creed  of  the  Re 
publican  party  that  a  protective  tariff  shall  be 
maintained  (cheers),  and  it  has  been  the  inva 
riable  practice  of  the  Democratic  party  in  Con 
gress  for  more  than  fifty  years  past  to  oppose 
the  policy  of  protection.  Times  have  been  dull 
for  some  months  past.  Why  ?  Clearly  because 
of  the  uncertainty  created  in  the  business  world 
by  the  agitation  in  Congress  last  winter  of  the 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884.  453 

tariff  question,  and  the  fact  that  the  Democratic 
party  came  within  two  votes  of  destroying  the 
protective  tariff.  Is  there  any  man  who  doubts 
that,  with  the  free  trade  theories  of  the  Demo 
crats,  if  they  were  elevated  to  power  the  protec 
tive  tariff  would  be  destroyed?  If  any  man. 
doubts  that  he  doubts  his  senses  ;  he  denies  the 
record  ;  he  will  not  listen  to  plain  facts.  The 
omens  in  the  present  contest  are  to  be  spoken  of 
by  you,  not  by  me ;  but  there  are  one  or  two 
things  connected  with  it  which  I  beg  to  refer  to. 
I  beg  especially  to  refer  to  the  fact  that,  in  a 
larger  degree  than  in  any  other  campaign  of  which 
I  have  personal  knowledge,  the  Republican  party 
has  the  inestimable  advantage  of  the  sympathy 
and  support  of  the  great  mass  of  the  young  men 
of  the  country  (cheers),  and  the  young  men  carry 
with  them  strength,  confidence,  the  power  to  bear 
burdens  and  the  power  to  give  encouragement  to 
others.  The  Republican  party  began  its  exist 
ence  thirty  years  ago  with  the  support  of  the 
young  men.  Twenty-eight  years  ago,  before 
many  who  now  hear  me  knew  anything  of  politi 
cal  contests,  that  party  entered  the  field  for  the 
first  time  in  a  National  struggle.  It  selected  a 
young  man  for  its  leader  ;  it  selected  a  man  in 
his  forty-third  year — the  same  age  at  which  Wash 
ington  was  intrusted  writh  the  command  of  the 
Continental  Army — a  young  man  of  great  zeal, 
of  great  intelligence  and  of  a  career  so  heroic 
26 


454  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

that  it  partook  largely  of  romance.  Under  his 
leadership  the  Republican  party,  in  its  very  first 
National  contest,  alarmed  if  it  did  not  defeat  our 
opponents.  Since  then,  twenty-eight  years  have 
been  added  to  his  age,  bringing  it  up  to  the 
Psalmist's  limit — three  score  years  and  ten  ;  but 
he  is  still  fresh  and  vigorous  in  body  and  in  mind, 
still  warm  in  his  support  of  the  Republican  party, 
arid  it  is  my  especial  pleasure  to-day  that  I  can, 
as  I  now  do,  introduce  to  you  General  John  C. 
Fremont."  (Prolonged  cheering.) 

Malice  had  done  its  mischief,  however,  and  it 
could  not  be  undone.  Mr.  Elaine  returned  to 
his  home  at  Augusta,  receiving  an  imposing  re 
ception  at  Boston  on  the  way.  The  election  oc 
curred  on  November  4th.  The  result  turned 
upon  the  vote  of  New  York  State,  and  for  some 
days  that  was  in  doubt.  After  an  inexplicable 
delay  on  the  part  of  the  Democratic  officers  of 
election,  a  de  liy  during  which  grave  suspicions 
arose  that  the  returns  were  being  tampered  with 
and  falsified,  it  was  announced  that  Mr.  Cleve 
land  had  carried  the  State  by  a  narrow  margin 
of  1,047  v°tes.  The  popular  vote  for  the  two 
candidates  in  the  various  States  was  as  follows  : 

STATES.  ELAINE.  CLEVELAND. 

Alabama,  59>59T                          93J951 

Arkansas,  5°>%95                           72>927 

California,  102,416^                      89,288 

Colorado,  36,290                           27,723 

Connecticut,  65,923                          67,199 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884. 


455 


STATES. 


BLAINE. 


CLEVELAND. 


Delaware, 

12,951 

16,964 

Florida, 

28,031 

31,766 

Georgia, 

48,603 

94,667 

Illinois, 

337,474^ 

312,355 

Indiana, 

238,463 

244,99° 

Iowa, 

197,089 

177,316 

Kansas, 

154,406 

90,132 

Kentucky, 

118,122 

152,961 

Louisiana, 

46,347 

62,540 

Maine, 

72,209 

52,140 

Maryland, 

85,699 

96,932 

Massachusetts, 

146,724 

122,481 

Michigan, 

192,669 

149,835 

Minnesota, 

111,923 

70,144 

Mississippi, 

43,5°9 

76,510 

Missouri, 

202,929 

235,988 

Nebraska, 

76,912 

54,391 

Nevada, 

7,193 

5,578 

New  Hampshire, 

43,249 

39.183 

New  Jersey, 

123,440 

127,798 

New  York, 

562,005 

563,154 

North  Carolina, 

125,068 

142,952 

Ohio, 

400,082 

368,280 

Oregon, 

26,860 

24,604 

Pennsylvania, 

473,804 

392,785 

Rhode  Island, 

19,030 

12,391 

South  Carolina, 

21,733 

69,890 

Tennessee, 

124,078 

133,258 

Texas, 

93,141 

225,309 

Vermont, 

39,514 

I7,33I 

Virginia, 

139,356 

145,497 

West  Virginia, 

63,096 

67,3!7 

Wisconsin, 

161,157 

146,459 

Mr.  Elaine  thus  received  a  total  of  4,851,981 
votes  or  48.22  per  cent,  of  the  whole  ;  Mr.  Cleve 
land  received  4,874,986  votes,  or  48.48  per  cent. 
General  Benjamin  F.  Butler,  who  was  the  Presi 
dential  candidate  of  the  Greenback-Labor  party, 


456  ^  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

received  175,370  votes,  and  Mr.  John  P.  St.  John, 
the  candidate  of  the  Prohibition  party,  150,369. 
Mr.  Cleveland  thus  had  a  plurality  of  23,005,  but 
failed  to  receive  a  clear  majority  of  the  popular 
vote.  In  the  electoral  college  Mr.  Elaine  received 
182  votes  and  Mr.  Cleveland  219. 

This  defeat  was  a  bitter  disappointment  to  Mr. 
Blaine,  and  a  still  more  bitter  disappointment  to 
his  millions  of  admirers  and  supporters  throughout 
the  country.  It  was  exasperating  to  think  that  he 
had  been  defeated  through  the  malicious  interpre 
tation  of  a  stupid  remark  made  by  a  purblind  old 
gentleman  at  the  very  end  of  the  campaign.  But 
even  more  serious  consideration  was  demanded 
by  the  fact  that  in  this,  as  in  all  other  elections 
since  1876,  force  and  fraud  carried  the  day  in  a 
number  of  the  Southern  States,  so  that  their  votes 
were '  counted  for  the  candidate  of  the  party  that 
was  really  in  the  minority.  This  subject  had 
frequently  been  discussed  with  telling  force  by 
Mr.  Biaine  in  the  two  Houses  of  Congress,  and 
he  referred  to  it  once  more  in  calm  and  temperate 
yet  unmistakably  emphatic  terms  in  the  following 
address,  which  he  made  at  Augusta,  on  November 
1 8th,  to  a  great  throng  of  his  fellow-townsmen, 
who  visited  him  to  express  their  confidence  and 
esteem  : 

"FRIENDS  AND  NEIGHBORS: — The  National  con 
test  is  over,  and  by  the  narrowest  of  margins  we 
have  lost.  I  thank  you  for  your  call,  which  if  not 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884.  457 

one  of  joyous  congratulations,  is  one,  I  am  sure, 
of  confidence  and  of  sanguine  hope  for  the  future. 
I  thank  you  for  the  public  opportunity  you  give 
me  to  express  my  sense  of  obligation,  not  only  to 
you,  but  to  all  the  Republicans  of  Maine.  They 
responded  to  my  nomination  with  genuine  en 
thusiasm  and  ratified  it  by  a  superb  vote.  I  count 
it  as  one  of  the  honors  and  gratifications  of  my 
public  career  that  the  party  in  Maine,  after  strug 
gling  hard  for  the  last  six  years,  and  twice  within 
that  period  losing  the  State,  has  come  back  in  this 
campaign  to  the  old-fashioned  20,000  plurality. 
No  other  expression  of  popular  confidence  and 
esteem  could  equal  that  of  the  people  among 
whom  I  have  lived  for  thirty  years,  and  to  whom  I 
am  attached  by  all  the  ties  that  ennoble  human 
nature  and  give  joy  and  dignity  to  life. 

"After  Maine — indeed,  along  with  Maine-^—my 
first  thought  is  always  of  Pennsylvania.  How  can 
I  fittingly  express  my  thanks  for  that  unparalleled 
majority  of  more  than  80,000  votes — a  popular 
indorsement  which  has  deeply  touched  my  heart, 
and  which  has,  if  possible,  increased  my  affection 
for  the  grand  old  Commonwealth  ;  an  affection 
which  I  inherited  from  my  ancestry,  and  which  I 
shall  transmit  to  my  children? 

"  But  I  do  not  limit  my  thanks  to  the  State  of 
my  residence  and  the  State  of  my  birth.  I  owe 
much  to  the  true  and  zealous  friends  in  New 
England,  who  worked  so  nobly  for  the  Republican 


JAMES  G.   ELAINE. 

party  and  its  candidates,  and  to  the  eminent 
scholars  and  divines  who,  stepping  aside  from 
their  ordinary  avocations,  made  my  cause  their 
cause,  and  to  loyalty  to  principle  added  the  special 
compliment  of  standing  as  my  representative  in 
the  National  struggle. 

''But  the  achievements  for  the  Republican 
cause  in  the  East  are  even  surpassed  by  the 
splendid  victories  in  the  West.  In  that  magnificent 
cordon  of  States  that  stretches  from  the  foot-hills  of 
the  Alleghenies  to  the  Golden  Gate  of  the  Pacific, 
beginning  with  Ohio  and  ending  with  California, 
the  Republican  banner  was  borne  so  loftily  that 
but  a  single  State  failed  to  join  in  the  wild  acclaim 
of  triumph.  Nor  should  I  do  justice  to  my  own 
feelings  if  I  failed  to  thank  the  Republicans  of  the 
Empire  State,  who  encountered  so  many  discour 
agements  and  obstacles,  who  fought  foes  from 
within  and  foes  from  without,  and  who  waged  so 
strong  a  battle  that  a  change  of  one  vote  in  every 
2,000  would  have  given  us  the  victory  in  the  Nation. 
Indeed,  a  change  of  a  little  more  than  5,000  votes 
would  have  transferred  New  York,  Indiana,  New 
Jersey  and  Connecticut  to  the  Republican  stand 
ard,  and  would  have  made  the  North  as  solid  as 
the  South. 

"  My  thanks  would  still  be  incomplete  if  I  should 
fail  to  recognize  with  special  gratitude  that  great 
body  of  working  'men,  both  native  and  foreign 
born,  who  gave  me  their  earnest  support,  breaking 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884.  459 

from  old  personal  and  party  ties,  and  finding  in 
the  principles  which  I  represented  in  the  canvass 
the  safeguard  and  protection  of  their  own  fireside 
interests. 

"  The  result  of  the  election,  my  friends,  will  be 
regarded  in  the  future,  I  think,  as  extraordinary. 
The  Northern  States,  leaving  out  the  cities  of 
New  York  and  Brooklyn  from  the  count,  sustained 
the  Republican  cause  by  a  majority  of  more  than 
400,000 — almost  half  a  million,  indeed — of  the 
popular  vote.  The  cities  of  New  York  and 
Brooklyn  threw  their  great  strength  and  influence 
with  the  solid  South,  and  were  the  decisive  element 
which  gave  to  that  section  the  control  of  the 
National  Government.  Speaking  now  not  at  all 
as  a  defeated  candidate,  but  simply  as  a  loyal  and 
devoted  American,  I  think  the  transfer  of  the 
political  power  of  the  Government  to  the  South  is 
a  great  National  misfortune.  It  is  a  misfortune 
because  it  introduces  an  element  which  cannot 
insure  harmony  and  prosperity  to  the  people, 
because  it  introduces  into  a  Republic  the  rule  of 
a  minority.  The  first  instinct  of  an  American  is 
equality — equality  of  right,  equality  of  privilege, 
equality  of  political  power — that  equality  which 
says  to  every  citizen,  '  Your  vote  is  just  as  good, 
just  as  potential,  as  the  vote  of  any  other  citizen.' 
That  cannot  be  said  to-day  in  the  United  States. 

"  The  course  of  affairs  in  the  South  has  crushed 
out  the   political  power  of  more  than  6,000,000 


460  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

American  citizens,  and  has  transferred  it  by 
violence  to  others.  Forty-two  Presidential  Elec 
tors  are  assigned  to  the  South  on  account  of  the 
colored  population,  and  yet  the  colored  population, 
with  more  than  1,100,000  legal  votes,  have  been 
unable  to  choose  a  single  Elector.  Even  in  those 
States  where  they  have  a  majority  of  more  than  a 
hundred  thousand  they  are  deprived  of  free  suf 
frage,  and  their  rights  as  citizens  are  scornfully 
trodden  under  foot.  The  eleven  States  that 
comprised  the  Rebel  Confederacy  had,  by  the 
census  of  1880,  7,500,000  of  white  population 
and  5,300,000  colored  population.  The  colored 
population,  almost  to  a  man,  desire  to  support  the 
Republican  party,  but  by  a  system  of  cruel 
intimidation  and  by  violence  and  murder,  when 
ever  violence  and  murder  are  thought  necessary, 
they  are  absolutely  deprived  of  all  political  power. 
If  the  outrage  stopped  there,  it  would  be  bad 
enough  ;  but  it  does  not  stop  there,  for  not  only 
is  the  negro  population  disfranchised,  but  the 
power  which  rightfully  and  constitutionally  belongs 
to  it  is  transferred  to  the  white  population,  ena 
bling  the  white  population  of  the  South  to  exert  an 
Electoral  influence  far  beyond  that  exerted  by  the 
same  number  of  white  people  in  the  North. 

"  To  illustrate  just  how  it  works  to  the  destruc 
tion  of  all  fair  elections,  let  me  present  to  you  five 
States  in  the  late.  Confederacy  and  five  loyal 
States  of  the  North,  possessing  in  each  section 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884.  461 

the  same  number  of  Electoral  votes.  In  the 
South  the  States  of  Louisiana,  Mississippi,  Al 
abama,  Georgia  and  South  Carolina  have  in  the 
aggregate  forty-eight  Electoral  votes.  They 
have  2,800,000  white  people,  and  over  3,000,000 
colored  people.  In  the  North  the  States  of  Wis 
consin,  Minnesota,  Iowa,  Kansas  and  California 
have  likewise  in  the  aggregate  forty-eight  Elec 
toral  votes,  and  they  have  a  white  population  of 
5,600,000,  or  just  double  the  five  Southern  States 
which  I  have  named.  These  Northern  States 
have  practically  no  colored  population.  It  is 
therefore  evident  that  the  white  men  in  those 
Southern  States  by  usurping  and  absorbing  the 
rights  of  the  colored  men  are  exerting  just  double 
the  political  power  of  the  white  men, in  the 
Northern  States.  I  submit,  my  friends,  that  such 
a  condition  of  affairs  is -extraordinary,  unjust,  and 
derogatory  to  the  manhood  of  the  North.  Even 
those  who  are  vindictively  opposed  to  negro 
suffrage  will  not  deny  that  if  Presidential  Electors 
are  assigned  to  the  South  by  reason  of  the  negro 
population  that  population  ought  to  be  permitted 
free  suffrage  in  the  election.  To  deny  that  clear 
proposition  is  to  affirm  that  a  Southern  white  man 
in  the  Gulf  States  is  entitled  to  double  the  politi 
cal  power  of  a  Northern  white  man  in  the  Lake 
States.  It  is  to  affirm  that  a  Confederate  soldier 
shall  wield  twice  the  influence  in  the  Nation  that 
a  Union  soldier  can,  and  that  a  perpetual  and 


462  JAMES    G.    ELAINE. 

constantly  increasing  superiority  shall  be  conceded 
to  the  Southern  white  man  in  the  Government  of 
the  Union.  If  that  be  quietly  conceded  in  this 
generation  it  will  harden  into  custom,  until  the 
badge  of  inferiority  will  attach  to  the  Northern 
white  man  as  odiously  as  ever  Norman  noble 
stamped  it  upon  Saxon  churl. 

"This  subject  is  of  deep  interest  to  the  labor 
ing  men  of  the  North.  With  the  Southern  De 
mocracy  triumphant  in  their  States  and  in  the 
nation,  the  negro  will  be  compelled  to  work  for 
just  such  wages  as  the  whites  may  decree  ;  wages 
which  will  amount,  as  did  the  supplies  of  the 
slaves,  to  a  bare  subsistence,  equal  in  cash  to  per 
haps  35  cents  per  day,  if  averaged  over  the  en 
tire  South.  The  white  laborer  in  the  North  will 
soon  feel  the  distinctive  effect  of  this  upon  his 
own  wages.  The  Republicans  have  clearly  seen 
from  the  earliest  days  of  reconstruction  that 
wages  in  the  South  must  be  raised  to  a  just 
recompense  of  the  laborer  or  wages  in  the  North 
ruinously  lowered,  and  the  party  have  steadily 
worked  for  the  former  result.  The  reverse  in 
fluence  will  now  be  set  in  motion,  and  that  condi 
tion  of  affairs  produced  which  years  ago  Mr.  Lin 
coln  warned  the  free  laboring  men  of  the  North 
will  prove  hostile  to  their  independence,  and  will 
inevitably  lead  to  a  ruinous  reduction  of  wages. 
A  mere  difference  of  the  color  of  the  skin  will  not 
suffice  to  maintain  an  entirely  different  standard 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884.  463 

in  wages  of  contiguous  and  adjacent  States, 
and  the  voluntary  will  be  compelled  to  yield  to 
the  involuntary.  So  completely  have  the  colored 
men  in  the  South  been  already  deprived  by  the 
Democratic  party  of  their  constitutional  and  legal 
right  as  citizens  of  the  United  States  that  they  re 
gard  the  advent  of  that  party  to  National  power 
as  the  signal  of  their  enslavement,  and  are 
affrighted  because  they  think  all  legal  protection 
for  them  is  gone. 

"Few  persons  in  the  North  realize  how  com 
pletely  the  chiefs  of  the  Rebellion  wield  the  politi 
cal  power  which  has  triumphed  in  the  late  elec 
tion.  It  is  a  portentous  fact  that  the  Democratic 
Senators  who  come  from  the  States  of  the  late 
Confederacy,  all — and  I  mean  all  without  a 
single  exception — personally  participated  in  the 
Rebellion  against  the  National  Government.  It 
is  a  still  more  significant  fact  that  in  those  States 
no  man  who  was  loyal  to  the  Union,  no  matter 
how  strong  a  Democrat  he  may  be  to-day,  has 
the  slightest  chance  of  political  promotion.  The 
one  great  avenue  to  honor  in  that  section  is 
the  record  of  zealous  service  in  the  war 
against  the  Government.  It  is  certainly  an 
astounding  fact  that  the  section  in  which  friend 
ship  for  the  Union  in  the  day  of  its  trial  and  agony 
is  still  a  political  disqualification  should  be  called 
now  to  rule  over  the  Union.  All  this  takes  place 
during  the  lifetime  of  the  generation  that  fought 


464  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

the  war,  and  elevates  into  practical  command  of 
the  American  Government  the  identical  men  who 
organized  for  its  destruction  and  plunged  us  into 
the  bloodiest  contest  of  modern  times. 

"  I  have  spoken  of  the  South  as  placed  by  the 
late  election  in  possession  of  the  Government, 
and  I  mean  all  that  my  words  imply.  The  South 
furnished  nearly  three-fourths  of  the  Electoral 
votes  that  defeated  the  Republican  party,  and 
they  will  step  to  the  command  of  the  Democrats 
as  unchallenged  and  as  unrestrained  as  they 
held  the  same  position  for  thirty  years  before  the 
war. 

"  Gentlemen,  there  cannot  be  political  inequal 
ity  among  the  citizens  of  a  free  Republic  ;  there 
cannot  be  a  minority  of  white  men  in  the  South 
ruling  a  majority  of  white  men  in  the  North. 
Patriotism,  self-respect,  pride,  protection  for  per 
son  and  safety  for  country  all  cry  out  against  it. 
The  very  thought  of  it  stirs  the  blood  of  men 
who  inherit  equality  from  the  Pilgrims  who  first 
stood  on  Plymouth  Rock,  and  from  liberty- loving 
patriots  who  came  to  the  Delaware  with  William 
Penn.  It  becomes  the  primal  question  of  Ameri 
can  manhood.  It  demands  a  hearing  and  a  set 
tlement,  and  that  settlement  will  vindicate  the 
equality  of  American  citizens  in  all  personal  and 
civil  rights.  It  will,  at  least,  establish  the  equal 
ity  of  white  men  under  the  National  Government, 
and  will  give  to  the  Northern  man,  who  fought  to 


THE  CAMPAIGN  OF  1884.  46$ 

preserve  the  Union,  as  large  a  voice  in  its  gov 
ernment  as  may  be  exercised  by  the  Southern 
man  who  fought  to  destroy  the  Union. 

"The  contest  just  closed  utterly  dwarfs  the 
fortunes  and  fates  of  candidates,  whether  success 
ful  or  unsuccessful.  Purposely — I  may  say  in 
stinctively — I  have  discussed  the  issues  and  con 
sequences  of  that  contest  without  reference  to 
my  own  defeat,  without  the  remotest  reference  to 
the  gentleman  who  is  elevated  to  the  Presidency. 
Towards  him  personally  I  have  no,  cause  for  the 
slightest  ill-will,  and  it  is  with  cordiality  I  express 
the  wish  that  his  official  career  may  prove  gratify 
ing  to  himself  and  beneficial  to  the  country,  and 
that  his  administration  may  overcome  the  embar 
rassments  which  the  peculiar  source  of  its  power 
imposes  upon  it  from  the  hour  of  its  birth." 

During  the  administration  of  President  Cleve 
land,  which  began  on  March  4,  1885,  Mr.  Elaine 
remained  in  private  life.  Some  of  his  time  was 
spent  in  literary  work  and  some  in  European 
travel.  He  spent  much  time  in  Great  Britain, 
France  and  Italy,  and  was  everywhere  received  with 
the  utmost  respect,  and  treated  more  as  though  he 
were  the  sovereign  head  of  a  great  nation  than  a 
mere  private  citizen.  He  took  a  keen  interest 
in  the  progress  of  political  affairs  in  the  United 
States,  and  frequently  expressed  his  views  on 
important  issues  of  the  day  with  characteristic 
lucidity  and  force.  The  Republican  party  was 


JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

overwhelmingly  determined  to  make  him  its  can 
didate  a  second  time,  in  1888,  and  although  he 
did  not  personally  favor  this  plan,  and  was 
indeed,  on  account  of  impaired  health,  inclined 
to  retire  from  active  participation  in  public  affairs, 
popular  enthusiasm  in  his  behalf  and  determination 
to  place  him  at  last  in  the  White  House,  grew 
steadily  month  by  month,  and  year  by  year. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

A   CHALLENGE    AND  ITS    ANSWER. 

Free  Trade  Brought  Forward  as  the  Leading  Issue  of  the  Democratic 
Party — President  Cleveland's  Message  on  the  Subject  in  December, 
1887 — Text  of  the  Document  that  Sounded  the  Key-note  of  the 
Coming  Campaign — A  Prompt  Reply  by  Mr.  Elaine  by  Cable  from 
Paris — Report  of  the  Memorable  Interview  between  Mr.  Blaine^anci. 
Mr.  George  \V.  Smalley — Its  Effect  upon  Public  Opinion  and  Poli 
tics  in  the  United  States. 

President  Cleveland  had,  before  taking  office, 
expressed  an  emphatic  opinion  against  the  re 
election  of  a  President  for  a  second  term.  But 
as  his  own  term  of  office  drew  toward  its  close  it 
was  apparent,  and  was  universally  understood, 
that  he  was  a  candidate  for  re-nomination  and  re 
election.  During  the  first  two  and  a  -half  years 
of  his  administration  nothing  had  occurred  greatly 
to  strengthen  his  hold  upon  public  favor.  His 
management  of  .the  Executive  office  had  been  in 
the  main  acceptable.  His  political  opponents 
had,  of  course,  sharply  criticised  him,  but  his  own 
party  almost  unanimously  gave  him  earnest  sup 
port.  It  was  desirable  that  some  important  issue 
should  be  brought  forward  prominently  on  which, 
the  campaign  of  1888  should  be  fought.  Such 
an  issue  the  leaders  of  the  Democratic  party 
found  in  the  fiscal  system  of  the  Nation. 

467 


468  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

Under  the  protective  tariff,  adopted  by  the  Re 
publican  party  in  1861,  and  maintained  with 
various  modifications  down  to  the  present  time, 
the  National  finances  had  been  eminently  pros 
perous.  The  .great  war  debt  had  been  largely 
reduced,  specie  payments  had  been  resumed,  and 
the  credit  of  the  Government  was  unequalled  in 
the  money  markets  of  the  world.  Liberal  appro 
priations  had  been  made  for  public  works  of 
National  importance,  for  pensions  to  disabled 
soldiers  and  their  families,  and  for  the  redemp 
tion  of  Government  bonds.  At  the  same  time, 
so  great  was  the  business  prosperity  of  the  coun 
try  and  the  consequent  revenues  of  the  Govern 
ment  that  a  very  considerable  surplus  had  accu 
mulated  in  the  National  Treasury.  This  was 
seized  upon  by  Mr.  Cleveland  and  his  party  as 
sociates  as  the  issue  for  the  next  campaign.  They 
argued  that  the  surplus  revenue  was  far  too  large ; 
that  the  accumulation  of  such  a  vast  sum  of 
money  in  the  National  Treasury  not  only  invited 
corruption,  but  was  a  direct  injury  to  business ; 
that  it  was  a  robbery  of  the  people  to  tax  them, 
on  their  imports,  so  largely  beyond  the  needs  of 
the  Government ;  and  that,  therefore,  the  tariff 
should  be  so  revised  as  to  reduce  the  revenue 
immediately  to  the  actual  needs  of  the  Govern 
ment,  and  to  abolish  the  surplus.  There  should 
be,  in  other  words,  a  tariff  for  revenue  only,  and 
not  at  all  for  protection.  That  would  amount 


A  CHALLENGE  AND  ITS  ANSWER. 


471 


to  free    trade,   as    that    term    is     understood    in 
England. 

A  considerable  portion  of  the  Democratic  party 
was  strongly  opposed  to  such  a  policy.  But  the 
overwhelming  majority  of  those  in  Congress,  led 
by  Mr.  Carlisle,  the  Speaker  of  the  House,  and 
Mr.  Mills,  the  Leader  on  the  Floor  of  the  House, 
favored  it,  and  their  counsel  prevailed  with  the 
President.  On  the  meeting  of  Congress,  in  De 
cember,  1887,  accordingly,  he  sent  in  a  message, 
devoted,  not  to  a  general  review  of  the  interests 
of  the  country,  as  was  customary,  but  exclusively 
to  a  discussion  of  the  one  subject  of  the  sur 
plus  revenue  and  the  need  of  tariff  reform.  As 
a  matter  of  record,  and  to  enable  the  reader, 
comprehensively  and  exactly,  to  understand  the 
attitude  thereafter  taken  by  Mr.  Elaine  and  the 
arguments  put  forward  by  him,  the  text  of  the 
message  is  herewith  given  in  full  : 

To  the  Congress  of  tJie  United  States : — You 
are  confronted  at  the  threshold  of  your  legisla 
tive  duties  with  a  condition  of  the  National 
finances  which  imperatively  demands  immediate 
and  careful  consideration. 

The  amount  of  money  annually  exacted,  through 
the  operation  of  present  laws,  from  the  industries 
and  necessities  of  the  people,  largely  exceeds  the 
sum  necessary  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the 
Government. 
27 


472  JAMRS    G.    BLAINE. 

When  we  consider  that  the  theory  of  our  insti 
tutions  guarantees  to  every  citizen  the  full  enjoy 
ment  of  all  the  fruits  of  his  industry  and  enter 
prise,  with  only  such  deduction  as  may  be  his 
share  towards  the  careful  and  economical  main~ 
tenance  of  the  Government  which  protects  him, 
it  is  plain  that  the  exaction  of  more  than  this  is 
indefensible  extortion,  and  a  culpable  betrayal  of 
American  fairness  and  justice.  This  wrong,  in 
flicted  upon  those  who  bear  the  burden  of 
National  taxation,  like  other  wrongs,  multiplies  a 
brood  of  evil  consequences.  The  public  Treasury, 
which  should  only  exist  as  a  conduit  conveying 
the  people's  tribute  to  its  legitimate  objects  of 
expenditure,  becomes  a  hoarding  place  for  money 
needlessly  withdrawn  from  trade  and  the  people's 
use,  thus  crippling  our  National  energies,  sus 
pending  our  country's  development,  preventing 
investment  in  productive  enterprise,  threatening 
financial  disturbance,  and  inviting  schemes  of 
public  plunder. 

This  condition  of  our  Treasury  is  not  altogether 
new ;  and  it  has  more  than  once  of  late  been  sub 
mitted  to  the  people's  representatives  in  the  Con 
gress,  who  alone  can  apply  a  remedy.  And  yet  the 
situation  still  continues,  with  aggravated  incidents, 
more  than  ever  presaging  financial  convulsion  and 
widespread  disaster. 

It  will  not  do  to  neglect  the  situation  because 
its  dangers  are  not  now  palpably  imminent  and 


A  CHALLENGE  AND  ITS  ANSWER. 

apparent.  They  exist  none  the  less  certainly,  and 
await  the  unforeseen  and  unexpected  occasion 
when  suddenly  they  will  be  precipitated  upon  us. 

On  the  3oth  day  of  June,  1885,  the  excess  of 
revenues  over  public  expenditures  after  comply 
ing  with  the  annual  requirement  of  the  sinking- 
fund  act,  was  $17,859,735.84;  during  the  year 
ended  June  30,  1886,  such  excess  amounted  to 
$49,405,545.20;  and  during  the  year  ended  June 
30,  1887,  it  reached  the  sum  of  ^55,567,849.54. 

The  annual  contributions  to  the  sinking  fund 
during  the  three  years  above  specified,  amount 
ing  in  the  aggregate  to  $138,058,320.94,  and  de 
ducted  from  the  surplus  as  stated,  were  made  by 
calling  in  for  that  purpose  outstanding  three  per 
cent,  bonds  of  the  Government.  Durinqf  the  six 

o 

months  prior  to  June  30,  1887,  the  surplus  reve 
nue  had  grown  so  large  by  repeated  accumula 
tions,  and  it  was  feared  the  withdrawal  of  this 
great  sum  of  money  needed  by  the  people,  would 
so  affect  the  business  of  the  country,  that  the  sum 
of  $79,864, 100  of  such  surplus  was  applied  to  the 
payment  of  the  principal  and  interest  of  the  three 
per  cent,  bonds  still  outstanding,  and  which  wrere 
then  payable  at  the  option  of  the  Government. 
The  precarious  condition  of  financial  affairs  among 
the  people  still  needing  relief,  immediately  after 
the  3Oth  day  of  June,  1887,  the  remainder  of  the 
three  per  cent,  bonds  then  outstanding,  amount 
ing  with  principal  and  interest  to  the  sum  of 


JAMES    G.    JBLAINE. 

$18,877,500,  were  called  in  and  applied  to  the 
sinking-fund  contribution  for  the  current  fiscal 
year.  Notwithstanding  these  operations  of  the 
Treasury  Department,  representations  of  distress 
in  business  circles  not  only  continued  but  increased, 
and  absolute  peril  seemed  at  hand.  In  these  cir 
cumstances  the  contribution  to  the  sinking  fund 

o 

for  the  current  fiscal  year  was  at  once  completed 
by  the  expenditure  of  $27,684,283.55  in  the  pur 
chase  of  Government  bonds  not  yet  due  bearing 
four  and  four  and  a-half  per  cent,  interest,  the 
premium  paid  thereon  averaging  about  twenty- 
four  per  cent,  for  the  former  and  eight  per  cent, 
for  the  latter.  In  addition  to  this  the  interest 
accruing  during  the  current  year  upon  the  out 
standing  bonded  indebtedness  of  the  Government 

o 

was  to  some  extent  anticipated,  and  banks 
selected  as  depositories  of  public  money  were  per 
mitted  to  somewhat  increase  their  deposits. 

While  the  expedients  thus  employed,  to  re 
lease  to  the  people  the  money  lying  idle  in  the 
Treasury,  served  to  avert  immediate  danger,  our 
surplus  revenues  have  continued  to  accumulate, 
the  excess  for  the  present  year  amounting  on  the 
ist  day  of  December  to  $55,258,701.19,  and  esti 
mated  to  reach  the  sum  of  $i  13,000,000  on  the 
3Oth  of  June  next,  at  which  date  it  is  expected 
that  this  sum,  added  to  prior  accumulations,  will 
swell  the  surplus  in  the  Treasury  to  $140,- 
000,000. 


A  CHALLENGE  AND  ITS  ANSWER. 


475 


There  seems  to  be  no  assurance  that,  with  such 
a  withdrawal  from  the  use  of  the  people's  circulat 
ing"  medium,  our  business  community  may  not  in 
the  near  future  be  subjected  to  the  same  distress 
which  was  quite  lately  produced  from  the  same 
cause.  And  while  the  functions  of  our  National 
Treasury  should  be  few  and  simple,  and  while  its 
best  condition  would  be  reached,  I  believe,  by  its 
entire  disconnection  with  private  business  inter 
ests,  yet  when,  by  a  perversion  of  its  purposes, 
it  idly  holds  money  uselessly  subtracted  from 
the  channels  of  trade,  there  seems  to  be  reason 
for  the  claim  that  some  legitimate  means  should 
be  devised  by  the  Government  to  restore 
in  an  emergency,  without  waste  or  extrava 
gance,  such  money  to  its  place  among  the 
people. 

If  such  an  emergency  arises  there  now  exists  no 
clear  and  undoubted  executive  power  of  relief. 
Heretofore  the  redemption  of  three  per  cent, 
bonds,  which  were  payable  at  the  option  of  the 
Government,  has  afforded  a  means  for  the  dis 
bursement  of  the  excess  of  our  revenues  ;  but 
these  bonds  have  all  been  retired,  and  there  are  no 
bonds  outstanding  the  payment  of  which  we  have 
the  right  to  insist  upon.  The  contribution  to  the 
sinking  fund  which  furnishes  the  occasion  for  ex 
penditure  in  the  purchase  of  bonds  has  been 
already  made  for  the  current  year,  so  that  there 
is  no  outlet  in  that  direction. 


JAMES  C.  BLAINE. 

*  In  the  present  state  of  legislation  the  only  pre 
tence  of  any  existing  executive  power  to  restore, 
at  this  time,  any  part  of  our  surplus  revenues  to 
the  people  by  its  expenditure,  consists  in  the  sup 
position  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  may 
enter  the  market  and  purchase  the  bonds  of  the 
Government  not  yet  due,  at  a  rate  of  premium  to 
be  agreed  upon.  The  only  provision  of  law  from 
which  such  a  power  could  be  derived  is  found  in 
an  appropriation  bill  passed  a  number  of  years 
ago  ;  and  it  is  subject  to  the  suspicion  that  it  was 
intended  as  temporary  and  limited  in  its  applica 
tion,  instead  of  conferring  a  continuing  discretion 
and  authority.  No  condition  ought  to  exist  which 
would  justify  the  grant  of  power  to  a  single 
official,  upon  his  judgment  of  its  necessity,  to 
withhold  from  or  release  to  the  business  of  the 
people,  in  an  unusual  manner,  money  held  in  the 
Treasury,  and  thus  affect,  at  his  will,  the  financial 
situation  of  the  country  ;  and  if  it  is  deemed  wise 
to  lodge  in  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  the 
•authority  in  the  present  juncture  to  purchase 
bonds,  it  should  be  plainly  vested,  and  provided, 
as  far  as  possible,  with  such  checks  and  limitations 
as  will  define  this  official's  right  and  discretion, 
and  at  the  same  time  relieve  him  from  undue 
responsibility. 

In  considering  the  question  of  purchasing  bonds 
as  a  means  of  restoring  to  circulation  the  surplus 
money  accumulating  in  the  Treasury,  it  should  be 


A  CHALLENGE  AND  ITS  ANSWER.  477 

borne  in  mind  that  premiums  must  of  course  be 
paid  upon  such  purchase,  that  there  may  be  a 
large  part  of  these  bonds  held  as  investments 
which  cannot  be  purchased  at  any  price,  and  that 
combinations  among1  holders  who  are  willing  to 
sell  may  unreasonably  enhance  the  cost  of  such 
bonds  to  the  Government. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  the  present  bonded 
debt  might  be  refunded  at  a  less  rate  of  interest, 
and  the  difference  between  the  old  and  new 
security  paid  in  cash,  thus  finding  use  for  the  sur 
plus  in  the  Treasury.  The  success  of  this  plan, 
it  is  apparent,  must  depend  upon  the  volition  of 
the  holders  of  the  present  bonds  ;  and  it  is  not 
entirely  certain  that  the  inducement  which  must 
be  offered  them  would  result  in  more  financial 
benefit  to  the  Government  than  the  purchase  of 
bonds,  while  the  latter  proposition  would  reduce 
the  principal  of  the  debt  by  actual  payment,  in 
stead  of  extending  it. 

The  proposition  to  deposit  the  money  held  by 
the  Government  in  banks  throughout  the  country, 
for  use  by  the  people,  is,  it  seems  to  me,  exceed 
ingly  objectionable  in  principle,  as  establishing 
too  close  a  relationship  between  the  operations  of 
the  Government  Treasury  and  the  business  of  the 
country,  and  too  extensive  a  commingling  of  their 
money,  thus  fostering  an  unnatural  reliance  in 
private  business  upon  public  funds.  If  this  scheme 
should  be  adopted,  it  should  only  be  done  as  a 


JAMES   G.   2JLAINE. 

temporary  expedient  to  meet  an  urgent  necessity. 
Legislative  and  executive  effort  should  generally 
be  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  should  have  a 
tendency  to  divorce,  as  much  and  as  fast  as  can 
safely  be  done,  the  Treasury  Department  from 
private  enterprise. 

Of  course  it  is  not  expected  that  unnecessary 
and  extravagant  appropriations  will  be  made  for 
the  purpose  of  avoiding  the  accumulation  of  an 
excess  of  revenue.  Such  expenditure,  beside  the 
demoralization  of  all  just  conceptions  of  public 
duty  which  it  entails,  stimulates  a  habit  of  reckless 
improvidence  not  in  the  least  consistent  with  the 
mission  of  our  people  or  the  high  and  beneficent 
purpose  of  our  Government. 

I  have  deemed  it  my  duty  to  thus  bring  to  the 
knowledge  of  my  countrymen,  as  well  as  the 
attention  of  their  representatives  charged  with 
the  responsibility  of  legislative  relief,  the  gravity 
of  our  financial  situation.  The  failure  of  the 
Congress  heretofore  to  provide  against  the  dan 
gers  which  it  was  quite  evident  the  very  nature 
of  the  difficulty  must  necessarily  produce,  caused 
a  condition  of  financial  distress  and  apprehension 
since  your  last  adjournment,  which  taxed  to  the 
uttermost  all  the  authority  and  expedients  within 
executive  control ;  and  these  appear  now  to  be 
exhausted.  If  disaster  results  from  the  continued 
inaction  of  Congress,  the  responsibility  must  rest 
where  it  belongs. 


A  CHALLENGE  AND  ITS  ANSWER.  479 

Though  the  situation  thus  far  considered  is 
fraught  with  danger  which  should  be  fully  realized, 
and  though  it  presents  features  of  wrong  to  the 
people  as  well  as  peril  to  the  country,  it  is  but 
a  result  growing  out  of  a  perfectly  palpable  and 
apparant  cause,  constantly  reproducing  the  same 
alarming  circumstances — a  congested  National 
Treasury  and  a  depleted  monetary  condition  in  the 
business  of  the  country.  It  need  hardly  be  stated 
that  while  the  present  situation  demands  a  remedy, 
we  can  only  be  saved  from  a  like  predicament  in 
the  future  by  the  removal  of  its  cause. 

Our  scheme  of  taxation,  by  means  of  which 
this  needless  surplus  is  taken  from  the  people 
and  put  into  the  public  Treasury,  consists  of  a 
tariff  or  duty  levied  upon  importations  from 
abroad,  and  internal-revenue  taxes  levied  upon 
the  consumption  of  tobacco  and  spirituous  and 
malt  liquors.  It  must  be  conceded  that  none  of 
the  things  subjected  to  internal-revenue  taxation 
are,  strictly  speaking,  necessaries  ;  there  appears 
to  be  no  just  complaint  of  this  taxation  by  the 
consumers  of  these  articles,  and  there  seems  to 
be  nothing  so  well  able  to  bear  the  burden  with 
out  hardship  to  any  portion  of  the  people. 

But  our  present  tariff  laws,  the  vicious,  inequi 
table,  and  illogical  source  of  unnecessary  taxation, 
ought  to  be  at  once  revised  and  amended.  These 
laws,  as  their  primary  and  plain  effect,  raise  the 
price  to  consumers  of  all  articles  imported  and 


480  JAMES    G.   BLAINE. 

subject  to  duty,  by  precisely  the  sum  paid  for 
such  duties.  Thus  the  amount  of  the  duty  meas 
ures  the  tax  paid  by  those  who  purchase  for  use 
these  imported  articles.  Many  of  these  things, 
however,  are  raised  or  manufactured  in  our  own 
country,  and  the  duties  now  levied  upon  foreign 
goods  and  products  are  called  protection  to  these 
home  manufactures,  because  they  render  it  possi 
ble  for  those  of  our  people  who  are  manufacturers 
to  make  these  taxed  articles  and  sell  them  for  a 
price  equal  to  that  demanded  for  the  imported 
goods  that  have  paid  customs  duty.  So  it  happens 
that  while  comparatively  a  few  use  the  imported 
articles,  millions  of  our  people,  who  never  use  and 
never  saw  any  of  the  foreign  products,  purchase 
and  use  things  of  the  same  kind  made  in  this  coun 
try,  and  pay  therefor  nearly  or  quite  the  same  en 
hanced  price  which  the  duty  adds  to  the  imported 
articles.  Those  who  buy  imports  pay  the  duty 
charged  thereon  into  the  public  Treasury,  but  the 
majority  of  our  citizens,  who  buy  domestic  articles 
of  the  same  class,  pay  a  sum  at  least  approx 
imately  equal  to  this  duty  to  the  home  manufact 
urer.  This  reference  to  the  operation  of  our 
tariff  laws  is  not  made  by  way  of  instruction,  but 
in  order  that  we  may  be  constantly  reminded 
of  the  manner  in  which  they  impose  a  burden 
upon  those  who  consume  domestic  products  as 
well  as  those  who  consume  imported  articles,  and 
thus  create  a  tax  upon  all  our  people. 


A  CHALLENGE  AND  ITS  ANSWER.  481 

It  is  not  proposed  to  entirely  relieve  the  coun 
try  of  this  taxation.  It  must  be  extensively  con 
tinued  as  the  source  of  the  Government's  income; 
and  in  a  readjustment  of  our  tariff  the  interests  of 
American  labor  engaged  in  manufacture  should 
be  carefully  considered,  as  well  as  the  preserva 
tion  of  our  manufactures.  It  may  be  called  pro 
tection,  or  by  any  other  name,  but  relief  from  the 
hardships  and  dangers  of  our  present  tariff  laws, 
should  be  devised  with  especial  precaution  against 
imperilling  the  existence  of  our  manufacturing 
interests.  But  this  existence  should  not  mean  a 
condition  which,  without  regard  to  the  public  wel 
fare  or  a  national  exigency,  must  always  insure 
the  realization  of  immense  profits  instead  of  mod 
erately  profitable  returns.  As  the  volume  and 
diversity  of  our  national  activities  increase,  new 
recruits  are  added  to  those  who  desire  a  continua 
tion  of  the  advantages  which  they  conceive  the 
present  system  of  tariff  taxation  directly  affords 
them.  So  stubbornly  have  all  efforts  to  reform 
the  present  condition  been  resisted  by  those  of 
our  fellow-citizens  thus  engaged,  that  they  can 
hardly  complain  of  the  suspicion,  entertained  to  a 
certain  extent,  that  there  existed  an  organized 
combination  all  along  the  line  to  maintain  their 
advantage. 

o 

We  are  in  the  midst  of  centennial  celebrations 
and  with  becoming  pride  we  rejoice  in  American 
skill  and  ingenuity,  in  American  energy  and 


432  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

enterprise,  and  in  the  wonderful  natural  advantages 
and  resources  developed  by  a  century's  national 
growth.  Yet  when  an  attempt  is  made  to  justify  a 
scheme  which  permits  a  tax  to  be  laid  upon  every 
consumer  in  the  land  for  the  benefit  of  our  manu 
facturers,  quite  beyond  a  reasonable  demand  for 
government  regard,  it  suits  the  purposes  of  advo 
cacy  to  call  our  manufactures  infant  industries, 
still  needing  the  highest  and  greatest  degree  of 
favor  and  fostering  care  that  can  be  wrung  from 
Federal  legislation. 

It  is  also  said  that  the  increase  in  the  price  of 
domestic  manufactures  resulting  from  the  present 
tariff  is  necessary  in  order  that  higher  wages  may 
be  paid  to  our  working  men  employed  in  manufacto 
ries,  than  are  paid  for  what  is^  called  the  pauper 
labor  of  Europe.  All  will  acknowledge  the  force 
of  an  argument  which  involves  the  welfare  and 

o 

liberal  compensation  of  our  laboring  people.  Our 
labor  is  honorable  in  the  eyes  of  every  American 
citizen  ;  and  as  it  lies  at  the  foundation  of  our 
development  and  progress,  it  is  entitled,  without 
affectation  or  hypocrisy,  to  the  utmost  regard. 
The  standard  of  our  laborers'  life  should  not  be 
measured  by  that  of  any  other  country  less  fav 
ored,  and  they  are  entitled  to  their  full  share  of  all 
our  advantages. 

By  the  last  census  it  is  made  to  appear  that  of 
the  17,392,099  of  our  population  eqgaged  in  all 
kinds  of  industries,  7,670,493  are  employed  in 


A  CHALLENGE  AND  ITS  ANSWER. 

agriculture,  4,074,238  in  professional  and  personal 
service  (2,934,876  of  whom  are  domestic  servants 
and  laborers),  while  1,810,256  are  employed  in 
trade  and  transportation,  and  3,837,112  are  classed 
as  employed  in  manufacturing1  and  mining. 

For  present  purposes,  however,  the  last  number 
given  should  be  considerably  reduced.  Without 
attempting  to  enumerate  all,  it  will  be  conceded 
that  there  should  not  be  deducted  from  these 
which  it  includes,  375,143  carpenters  and  joiners, 
285,401  milliners,  dressmakers  and  seamstresses, 
172,726  blacksmiths,  133,756  tailors  and  tailor- 
esses,  102,473  masons,  76,241  butchers,  41,- 
309  bakers,  22,083  plasterers,  and  4,891  en 
gaged  in  manufacturing  agricultural  implements, 
amounting  in  the  aggregate  to  1,214,023,  leaving 
2,623,089  persons  employed  in  such  manufactur 
ing  industries  as  are  claimed  to  be  benefited  by  a 
high  tariff. 

To  these  the  appeal  is  made  to  save  their  em 
ployment  and  maintain  their  wages  by  resisting  a 
change.  There  should  be  no  disposition  to  an 
swer  such  suggestions  by  the  allegation  that  they 
are  in  a  minority  among  those  who  labor,  and 
therefore  should  forego  an  advantage,  in  the  in 
terest  of  low  prices  for  the  majority  ;  their  com 
pensation,  as  it  may  be  affected  by  the  operation 
of  tariff  laws,  should  at  all  times  be  scrupulously 
kept  in  view  ;  and  yet  with  slight  reflection  they 
will  not  overlook  the  fact  that  they  are  consumers 


484  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

with  the  rest  ;  that  they,  too,  have  their  own  wants 
and  those  of  their  families  to  supply  from  their 
earnings,  and  that  the  price  of  the  necessaries  of 
life,  as  well  as  the  amount  of  their  wages,  will 
regulate  the  measure  of  their  welfare  and  comfort. 
But  the  reduction  of  taxation  demanded  should 
be  so  measured  as  not  to  necessitate  or  justify 
either  the  loss  of  employment  by  the  working  man 
or  the  lessening  of  his  wages  ;  and  the  profits 
still  remaining  to  the  manufacturer,  after  a  neces 
sary  readjustment,  should  furnish  no  excuse  for 
the  sacrifice  of  the  interests  of  his  employees 
either  in  their  opportunity  to  work  or  in  the  dimi 
nution  of  their  compensation.  Nor  can  the  worker 
in  manufactures  fail  to  understand  that  while 
a  high  tariff  is  claimed  to  be  necessary  to  allow  the 

O  J 

payment  of  remunerative  wages,  it  certainly  re 
sults  in  a  very  large  increase  in  the  price  of  near 
ly  all  sorts  of  manufactures,  which,  in  almost 
countless  forms,  he  needs  for  the  use  of  himself 
and  his  family.  He  receives  at  the  desk  of  his  em 
ployer  his  wages,  and  perhaps  before  he  reaches 
his  home  is  obliged,  in  a  purchase  for  family  use 
of  an  article  which  embraces  his  own  labor,  to  re 
turn  in  the  payment  of  the  increase  in  price 
which  the  tariff  permits,  the  hard-earned  compen 
sation  of  many  days  of  toil. 

The  farmer  and  the  agriculturist,  who  manufact 
ure  nothing,  but  who  pay  the  increased  price  which 
the  tariff  imposes  upon  every  agricultural 


A  CHALLENGE  AXD  ITS  ANSWER.  485 

implement,  upon  all  he  wears,  and  upon  all  he  uses 
and  owns  except  the  increase  of  his  flocks  and 
herds  and  such  things  as  his  husbandry  produces 
from  the  soil,  is  invited  to  aid  in  maintaining  the 
present  situation;  and  he  is  told  that  a  high  duty  on 
imported  wool  is  necessary  for  the  benefit  of  those 
who  have  sheep  to  shear,  in  order  that  the  price 
of  their  wool  may  be  increased.  They,  of  course, 
are  not  reminded  that  the  farmer  who  has  no 
sheep  is  by  this  scheme  obliged,  in  his  purchases 
of  clothing  and  woolen  goods,  to  pay  a  tribute  to 
his  fellow-farmer  as  well  as  to  the  manufacturer 
and  merchant ;  nor  is  any  mention  made  of  the 
fact  that  the  sheep-owners  themselves  and  their 
households  must  wear  clothing  and  use  other  ar 
ticles  manufactured  from  the  wool  they  sell  at 
tariff  prices,  and  thus,  as  consumers,  must  return 
their  share  this  increased  price  to  the  trades 
man. 

I  think  it  may  be  fairly  assumed  that  a  large 
proportion  of  the  sheep  owned  by  the  farmers 
throughout  the  country  are  found  in  small  flocks 
numbering  from  twenty-five  to  fifty.  The  duty 
on  the  grade  of  imported  wool  which  these 
sheep  yield,  is  ten  cents  each  pound  if  of  the 
value  of  thirty  cents  or  less,  and  twelve  cents  if 
of  the  value  of  more  than  thirty  cents.  If  the 
liberal  estimate  of  six  pounds  be  allowed  for  each 
fleece,  the  duty  thereon  would  be  sixty  or  seventy- 
two  cents,  and  this  may  be  taken  as  the  utmost 


486  JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

enhancement  of  its  price  to  the  farmer  by  reason 
of  this  duty.  Eighteen  dollars  would  thus  repre 
sent  the  increased  price  of  the  wool  from  twenty- 
five  sheep,  and  thirty-six  dollars  that  from  the  wool 
of  fifty  sheep  ;  and  at  present  values  this  addition 
would  amount  to  about  one-third  of  its  price  If 
upon  its  sale  the  farmer  receives  this  or  a  less 
tariff  profit,  the  wool  leaves  his  hands  charged 
with  precisely  that  sum,  which  in  all  its  changes 
will  adhere  to  it,  until  it  reaches  the  consumer. 
When  manufactured  into  cloth  and  other  goods 
and  material  for  use,  its  cost  is  not  only  increased 
to  the  extent  of  the  farmer's  tariff  profit,  but  a 
further  sum  has  been  added  for  the  benefit  of  the 
manufacturer  under  the  operation  of  other  tariff 
laws.  In  the  meantime  the  day  arrives  when  the 
farmer  finds  it  necessary  to  purchase  woolen  goods 
and  material  to  clothe  himself  and  family  for  the 
winter.  When  he  faces  the  tradesman  for  that 
purpose  he  discovers  that  he  is  obliged  not  only 
to  return,  in  the  way  of  increased  prices,  his  tariff 
profit  on  the  wool  he  sold,  and  which  then,  per 
haps,  lies  before  him  in  manufactured  form,  but 
that  he  must  add  a  considerable  sum  thereto  to 
meet  a  further  increase  in  cost  caused  by  a  tariff 
duty  on  the  manufacture.  Thus  in  the  end  he  is 
aroused  to  the  fact  that  he  has  paid  upon*  a  moder 
ate  purchase,  as  a  result  of  the  tariff  scheme, 
which  when  he  sold  his  wool  seemed  so  profitable, 
an  increase  in  price  more  than  sufficient  to  sweep 


WALTER  DAMROSCH, 


A  CHALLENGE  AND  ITS  ANSWER.  489 

away  all   the  tariff  profit  he   received  upon  the 
wool  he  produced  and  sold. 

When  the  number  of  farmers  engaged  in  wool- 
raising  is  compared  with  all  the  farmers  in  the 
country,  and  the  small  proportion  they  bear  to 
our  population  is  considered  ;  when  it  is  made 
apparent  that,  in  the  case  of  a  large  part  of  those 
who  own  sheep,  the  benefit  of  the  present  tariff 
on  wool  is  illusory ;  and,  above  all,  when  it  must 
be  conceded  that  the  increase  of  the  cost  of  living 
caused  by  such  tariff  becomes  a  burden  upon  those 
with  moderate  means,  and  the  poor,  the  employed 
and  unemployed,  the  sick  and  well,  and  the  young 
and  old,  and  that  it  constitutes  a  tax  which,  with 
relentless  grasp,  is  fastened  upon  the  clothing  of 
every  man,  woman  and  child  in  the  land,  reasons 
are  suggested  why  the  removal  or  reduction  of 
this  duty  should  be  included  in  a  revision  of  our 
tariff  laws. 

In  speaking  of  the  increased  cost  to  the  con 
sumer  of  our  home  manufactures,  resulting  from 
a  duty  laid  upon  imported  articles  of  the  same 
description,  the  fact  is  not  overlooked  that  com 
petition  among  our  domestic  producers  sometimes 
has  the  effect  of  keeping  the  price  of  their  pro 
ducts  below  the  highest  limit  allowed  by  such  duty. 
But  it  is  notorious  that  this  competition  is  too 
often  strangled  by  combinations  quite  prevalent 
at  this  time,  and  frequently  called  trusts,  which 
have  for  their  object  the  regulation  of  the  supply 
28 


4QO  JAMES    G.    JU.AINE. 

and  price  of  commodities  made  and  sold  by  mem 
bers  of  the  combination.  The  people  can  hardly 
hope  for  any  consideration  in  the  operation  of 
these  selfish  schemes. 

If,  however,  in  the  absence  of  such  combination, 
a  healthy  and  free  competition  reduces  the  price 
of  any  particular  dutiable  article  of  home  produc 
tion  below  the  limit  which  it  mi^ht  otherwise 

o 

reach  under  our  tariff  laws,  and  if,  with  such 
reduced  price,  its  manufacture  continues  to  thrive, 
it  is  entirely  evident  that  one  thing  has  been  dis 
covered  which  should  be  carefully  scrutinized  in 
an  effort  to  reduce  taxation. 

The  necessity  of  combination  to  maintain  the 
price  of  any  commodity  to  the  tariff  point  furnishes 
proof  that  some  one  is  willing1  to  accept  lower 
prices  for  such  commodity,  and  that  such  prices 
are  remunerative  ;  and  lower  prices  produced  by 
competition  prove  the  same  thing.  Thus  where 
either  of  these  conditions  exists,  a  case  would  seem 
to  be  presented  for  an  easy  reduction  of  taxation. 

The  considerations  which  have  been  presented 
touching  our  tariff  laws  are  intended  only  to  en 
force  an  earnest  recommendation  that  the  surplus 
revenues  of  the  Government  be  prevented  by  the 
reduction  of  our  custom  duties,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  emphasize  a  suggestion  that,  in  accom 
plishing  this  purpose,  we  may  discharge  a  double 
duty  to  our  people  by  granting  to  them  a  measure 
of  relief  from  tariff  taxation  in  quarters  where  it 


A  CHALLENGE  AND  ITS  ANSWER.  491 

is  most  needed  and  from  sources  where  it  can  be 
most  fairly  and  justly  accorded. 

Nor  can  the  presentation  made  of  such  consid 
erations  be,  with  any  degree  of  fairness,  regarded 
as  evidence  of  unfriendliness  toward  our  manu 
facturing  interests,  or  of  any  lack  of  appreciation 
of  their  value  and  importance. 

These  interests  constitute  a  leading  and  most 
substantial  element  of  our  national  greatness  and 
furnish  the  proud  proof  of  our  country's  progress. 
But  if  in  the  emergency  that  presses  upon  us  our 
manufacturers  are  asked  to  surrender  something 
for  the  public  good  and  to  avert  disaster,  their 
patriotism,  as  well  as  a  grateful  recognition  of 
advantages  already  afforded,  should  lead  them  to 
willing  co-operation.  No  demand  is  made  that 
they  shall  forego  all  the  benefits  of  governmental 
regard  ;  but  they  cannot  fail  to  be  admonished  of 
their  duty,  as  well  as  their  enlightened  self-interest 
and  safety,  when  they  are  reminded  of  the  fact 
that  financial  panic  and  collapse,  to  which  the 
present  condition  terfds,  affords  no  greater  shelter 
or  protection  to  our  manufactures  than  to  our 
other  important  enterprises.  Opportunity  for 
safe,  careful  and  deliberate  reform  is  now  offered ; 
and  none  of  us  should  be  unmindful  of  a  time 
when  an  abused  and  irritated  people,  heedless  of 
those  who  have  resisted  timely  and  reasonable 
belief,  may  insist  upon  a  radical  and  sweeping 
rectification  of  their  wrongs. 


492  JAMES   C.   BLAINE. 

The  difficulty  attending  a  wise  and  fair  revision 
of  our  tariff  laws  is  not  underestimated.  It  will 
require  on  the  part  of  the  Congress  great  labor 
and  care,  and  especially  a  broad  and  national 
contemplation  of  the  subject,  and  a  patriotic 
disregard  of  such  local  and  selfish  claims  as  are 
unreasonable  and  reckless  of  the  welfare  of  the 
entire  country. 

Under  our  present  laws  more  than  four  thousand 
articles  are  subject  to  duty.  Many  of  these  do 
not  in  any  way  compete  with  our  own  manufact 
ures,  and  many  are  hardly  worth  attention  as 
subjects  of  revenue.  A  considerable  reduction 
can  be  made  in  the  aggregate,  by  adding  them  to 
the  free  list.  The  taxation  of  luxuries  presents 
no  features  of  hardship  ;  but  the  necessaries  of 
life  used  and  consumed  by  all  the  people,  the 
duty  upon  which  adds  to  the  cost  of  living  in  every 
home,  should  be  greatly  cheapened. 

The  radical  reduction  of  the  duties  imposed 
upon  raw  material  used  in  manufactures,  or  its 
free  importation,  is,  of  course,  aTi  important  factor 
in  any  effort  to  reduce  the  price  of  these  neces 
saries  ;  it  would  not  only  relieve  them  from  the 
increased  cost  caused  by  the  tariff  on  such  mate 
rial,  but  the  manufactured  product  being  thus 
cheapened,  that  part  of  the  tariff  now  laid  upon 
such  product  as  a  compensation  to  our  manufact 
urers  for  the  present  price  of  raw  material,  could 
be  accordingly  modified.  -Such  reduction,  or  free 


A  CHALLENGE  AND  ITS  ANSWER.  493 

importation,  would  serve  beside  to  largely  reduce 
the  revenue.  It  is  not  apparent  how  such  a 
change  can  have  any  injurious  effect  upon  our 
manufacturers.  On  the  contrary,  it  would  ap 
pear  to  give  them  a  better  chance  in  foreign  mar 
kets  with  the  manufacturers  of  other  countries, 
who  cheapen  their  wares  by  free  material.  Thus 
our  people  might  have  an  opportunity  of  extend 
ing  their  sales  beyond  the  limits  of  home  con 
sumption — saving  them  from  the  depression,  in 
terruption  in  business,  and  loss  caused  by  a 
glutted  domestic  market,  and  affording  their  em 
ployees  more  certain  and  steady  labor,  with  its 
resulting  quiet  and  contentment. 

The  question  thus  imperatively  presented  for 
solution  should  be  approached  in  a  spirit  higher 
than  partisanship,  and  considered  in  the  light  of 
that  regard  for  patriotic  duty  which  should  char 
acterize  the  action  of  those  intrusted  with  the 
weal  of  a  confiding  people.  But  the  obligation 
to  declared  party  policy  and  principle  is  not  want 
ing  to  urge  prompt  and  effective  action.  Both  of 
the  great  political  parties  now  represented  in  the 
Government  have,  by  repeated  and  authoritative 
declarations,  condemned  the  condition  of  our  laws 
which  permit  the  collection  from  the  people  of 
unnecessary  revenue,  and  have,  in  the  most  solemn 
manner,  promised  its  correction  ;  and  neither  as  citi 
zens  nor  partisans  are  our  countrymen  in  a  mood  to 
condone  the  deliberate  violation  of  these  pledges. 


494  JAMES    C.   ULAINE. 

Our  progress  toward  a  wise  conclusion  will  not 
be  improved  by  dwelling  upon  the  theories  of 
protection  and  free  trade.  This  savors  too  much 
of  bandying  epithets.  It  is  a  condition  which  con 
fronts  us — not  a  theory.  Relief  from  this  condi 
tion  may  involve  a  slight  reduction  of  the  advan 
tages  which  we  award  ouc  home  productions,  but 
the  entire  withdrawal  of  such  advantages  should 
not  be  contemplated.  The  question  of  free  trade 
is  absolutely  irrelevant ;  and  the  persistent  claim 
made  in  certain  quarters,  that  all  efforts  to  relieve 
the  people  from  unjust  and  unnecessary  taxation 
are  schemes  of  so-called  free-traders,  is  mischiev 
ous  and  far  removed  from  any  consideration  for 
the  public  good. 

The  simple  and  plain  duty  which  we  owe  the 
people  is  to  reduce  taxation  to  the  necessary  ex 
penses  of  an  economical  operation  of  the  Gov 
ernment,  and  to  restore  to  the  business  of  the 
country  the  money  which  we  hold  in  the  Treasury 
through  the  perversion  of  governmental  powers. 
These  things  can  and  should  be  done  with  safety 
to  all  our  industries,  without  danger  to  the  op 
portunity  for  remunerative  labor  which  our  work 
ing  men  need,  and  with  benefit  to  them  and  all  our 
people,  by  cheapening  their  means  of  subsistence 
and  increasing  the  measure  of  their  comforts. 

The  Constitution  provides  that  the  President 
"shall,  from  time  to  time,  give  to  the  Congress 
information  of  the  state  of  the  Union."  It  has 


A  CHALLENGE  AND  ITS  ANSWER.  495 

been  the  custom  of  the  Executive,  in  compliance 
with  this  provision,  to  annually  exhibit  to  the 
Congress,  at  the  opening  of  its  session,  the  gen 
eral  condition  of  the  country,  and  to  detail,  with 
some  particularity,  the  operations  of  the  different 
Executive  Departments.  It  would  be  especially 
agreeable  to  follow  this  course  at  the  present  time, 
and  to  call  attention  to  the  valuable  accomplish 
ments  of  these  Deparftnents  during  the  last  fiscal 
year.  But  I  am  so  much  impressed  with  the 
paramount  importance  of  the  subject  to  which  this 
communication  has  thus  far  been  devoted,  that  I 
shall  forego  the  addition  of  any  other  topic,  and 
only  urge  upon  your  immediate  consideration  the 
"state  of  the  Union"  as  shown  in  the  present 
condition  of  our  Treasury  and  our  general  fiscal 
situation,  upon  which  every  element  of  our  safety 
and  prosperity  depends. 

The  reports  of  the  heads  of  Departments, 
which  will  be  submitted,  contain  full  and  explicit 
information  touching  the  transaction  of  the  busi 
ness  intrusted  to  them,  and  such  recommendations 
relating  to  legislation  in  the  public  interest  as 
they  deem  advisable.  I  ask  for  these  reports  and 
recommendations  the  deliberate  examination  and 
action  of  the  Legislative  branch  of  the  Govern 
ment. 

There  are  o'ther  subjects  not  embraced  in  the 
departmental  reports  demanding  legislative  con 
sideration  and  which  I  should  be  glad  to  submit. 


496  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

Some  of  them,  however,  have  been  earnestly  pre 
sented  in  previous  messages^  and  as  to  them,  I 
beg  leave  to  repeat  prior  recommendations. 

As  the  law  makes  no  provision  for  any  report 
from  the  Department  of  State,  a  brief  history  of 
the  transactions  of  that  important  Department, 
together  with  other  matters  which  it  may  hereafter 
be  deemed  essential  to  commend  to  the  attention 
of  the  Congress,  may  furnish  the  occasion  for  a 
future  communication. 

GROVER  CLEVELAND. 

WASHINGTON,  December  6,  1887. 

The  effect  of  this  message  was  instantaneous 
and  tremendous.  Seldom  has  any  American 
public  document  in  time  of  peace  produced  such 
a  sensation.  It  was  regarded  as  expressing  the 
principles  on  which  Mr.  Cleveland  would  appeal 
to  the  country  for  re-election  to  the  Presidency, 
and  on  which  the  financial  legislation  of  the  Con 
gress  during  that  session  would  be  based.  As 
for  the  Republicans,  they  greeted  it  with  sadsfac- 
tion,  for  the  tariff  was  the  very  issue  on  which 
they  were  most  anxious  to  fight  the  next  cam 
paign. 

It  was  necessary  that  some  conspicuous  Re 
publican  leader  should,  however,  make  immediate 
and  effective  answer  to  Mr.  Cleveland's  impres 
sive  utterances.  The  foremost  leader  of  the  party 
was  unquestionably  Mr.  Elaine.  He  was,  more 
over,  in  an  especial  sense  the  proper  man  to 


A  CHALLENGE  AND  ITS  ANSWER. 


497 


make  answer  to  Mr.  Cleveland,  as  he  had  been 
his  rival  in  the  Presidential  campaign  of  1884.  Mr. 
Elaine  was  at  the  time  in  Paris.  But  distance  did 
not  prevent  him  from  promptly  accepting  Mr. 
Cleveland's  challenge  and  making  his  answer 
thereto,  both  personally  and  as  the  leader  and 
spokesman  of  the  Republican  party. 

A  very  complete  abstract  of  the  President's 
message  was,  of  course,  immediately  transmitted 
by  cable  to  Europe  and  published  in  all  important 
papers  there.  That  was  on  the  morning  of  De 
cember  yth,  the  message  having  been  presented  to 
Congress  at  Washington  on  the  afternoon  of 
December  6th.  On  the  very  day  of  its  publication 
in  Europe,  Mr.  George  W.  Smalley,  the  well- 
known  London  correspondent  of  The  New  York 
Tribune,  called  on  Mr.  Elaine  in  Paris  and  asked 
him  if  he  would  be  willing  to  give  his  views  of  the 
President's  Message  for  publication,  in  the  form 
of  a  letter  or  an  interview.  Mr.  Elaine  replied 
in  the  affirmative,  saying  that  he  would  prefer  an 
interview.  Accordingly  an  expert  stenographer 
was  called  in  to  take  down  Mr.  Elaine's  words  as 
he  should  reply  to  the  various  questions  of  the 
correspondent.  Mr.  Elaine  began  by  saying  : 

"  I  have  been  reading  an  abstract  of  the  Presi 
dent's  message  and  have  been  especially  interested 
in  the  comments  of  the  London  papers.  Those 
papers  all  assume  to  declare  the  message  is  a  free 
trade  manifesto  and  evidently  are  anticipating  an 


498  JAMES  G.   nLAINE. 

enlarged  market  for  English  fabrics  in  the  United 
States  as  a  consequence  of  the  President's  recom 
mendations.  Perhaps  that  fact  stamped  the  char 
acter  of  the  message  more  clearly  than  any  words 
of  mine  can." 

"  You  don't  mean  actual  free  trade  without 
duty?"  queried  the  reporter. 

11  No."  replied  Mr.  Elaine.  "  Nor  do  the  Lon 
don  papers  mean  that.  They  simply  mean  that 
the  President  has  recommended t  what  in  the 
United  States  is  known  as  a  revenue  tariff,  re 
jecting  the  protective  feature  as  an  object  and  not 
even  permitting  protection  to  result  freely  as  an 
incident  to  revenue  duties.  I  mean,  that  for  the 
first  time  in  the  history  of  the  United  States  the 
President  recommends  retaining  the  internal 
tax  in  order  that  the  tariff  may  be  forced  down 
even  below  the  fair  revenue  standard.  He  rec 
ommends  that  the  tax  on  tobacco  be  retained, 
and  thus  that  many  millions  annually  shall  be 
levied  on  a  domestic  product  which  would  far 
better  come  from  a  tariff  on  foreign  fabrics." 

"  Then  do  you  mean  to  imply  that  you  would 
favor  the  repeal  of  the  tobacco  tax  ?" 

"Certainly;  I  mean  just  that,"  said  Mr.  Blaine. 
"I  should  urge  that  i::  be  done  at  once,  even 
before  the  Christmas  holidays.  It  would  in  the 
first  place  bring  great  relief  to  growers  of  tobacco 
all  over  the  country,  and  would,  moreover,  mate 
rially  lessen  the  price  of  the  article  to  consumers. 


A  CHALLENGE  AND  ITS  ANSWER.  499 

Tobacco  to  millions  of  men  is  a  necessity.  The 
President  calls  it  a  luxury,  but  it  is  a  luxury  in  no 
other  sense* than  tea  and  coffee  are  luxuries.  It 
is  well  to  remember  that  the  luxury  of  yesterday 
becomes  a  necessity  of  to-day.  Watch,  if  you 
please,  the  number  of  men  at  work  on  the  farm, 
in  the  coal-mine,  along-  the  railroad,  in  the  iron 
foundry,  or  in  any  calling,  and  you  will  find  95  in 
i  oo  chewing  while  they  work.  After  each  meal 
the  same  proportion  seek  the  solace  of  a  pipe  or 
a  cigar.  These  men  not  only  pay  the  millions  of 
the  tobacco  tax,  but  pay  on  every  plug  and  every 
cigar  an  enhanced  price  which  the  tax  enables  the 
manufacturer  and  retailer  to  impose.  The  only 
excuse  for  such  a  tax  is  the  actual  necessity  under 
which  the  Government  found  itself  during  the 
war,  and  the  years  immediately  following.  To 
retain  the  tax  now  in  order  to  destroy  the  protec 
tion  which  would  incidentally  flow  from  raising 
the  same  amount  of  money  on  foreign  imports  is 
certainly  a  most  extraordinary  policy  for  our  Gov 


ernment." 


"  Well,  then,  Mr.  Elaine,  would  you  advise  the 
repeal  of  the  whiskey  tax  also  ?  " 

"  No,  I  would  not.  Other  considerations  than 
those  of  financial  administration  are  to  be  taken 
into  account  with  regard  to  whiskey.  There  is 
a  moral  side  to  it.  To  cheapen  the  price  of 
whiskey  is  to  increase  its  consumption  enor 
mously.  There  would  be  no  sense  in  urging  the 


500  JAMES   G.   8LAINE. 

reform  wrought  by  high  license  in  many  States 
if  the  National  Government  neutralizes  the  good 
effect  by  making"  whiskey  within  reach  of  every 
one  at  twenty  cents  a  gallon.  Whiskey  would 
be  everywhere  distilled  if  the  surveillance  of  the 
Government  were  withdrawn  by  the  remission  of 
the  tax,  and  illicit  sales  could  not  then  be  pre 
vented  even  by  a  policy  as  rigorous  and  searching 
as  that  with  which  Russia  pursues  the  Nihilists. 
It  would  destroy  high  license  at  once  in  all  the 
States. 

"  Whiskey  has  done  a  vast  deal  of  harm  in  the 
United  States.  I  would  try  to  make  it  do  some 
good.  I  would  use  the  tax  to  fortify  our  cities 
on  the  seaboard.  In  view  of  the  powerful  letter 
addressed  to  the  Democratic  party  on  the  subject 
of  fortifications  by  the  late  Mr.  Samuel  J.  Tilden 
in  1885,  I  am  amazed  that  no  attention  has  been 
paid  to  the  subject  by  the  Democratic  Administra 
tion.  Never  before  in  the  history  of  the  world 
has  any  government  allowed  great  cities  on  the 
seaboard,  like  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Boston, 
Baltimore,  New  Orleans  and  San  Francisco,  to 
remain  absolutely  defenceless." 

"But,"  said  the  reporter,  "you  don't  think  we 
are  to  have  war  in  any  direction  ?  " 

"Certainly  not,"  said  Mr.  Blaine.  "Neither,  I 
presume,  did  Mr.  Tilden  when  he  wrote  his  re 
markable  letter.  But  we  should  change  a  remote 
chance  into  an  absolute  impossibility.  If  our 


A  CHALLENGE  AND  ITS  ANSWER.  50! 

weak  and  exposed  points  were  strongly  fortified, 
if  to-day  we  had  by  any  chance  even  such  a  war 
as  we  had  with  Mexico,  our  enemy  could  procure 
ironclads  in  Europe  that  would  menace  our  great 
cities  with  destruction  or  lay  them  under  contri 
bution." 

"But  would  not  our  fortifying  now  possibly 
look  as  if  we  expected  war  ?  " 

"Why  should  it  any  more  than  the  fortifica 
tions  made  seventy  or  eighty  years  ago  by  our 
grandfathers  when  they  guarded  themselves 
against  successful  attack  from  the  armaments  of 
that  day?  We  don't  necessarily  expect  a  burglar 
because  we  lock  our  doors  at  night,  but  if  by  any 
possibility  a  burglar  comes  it  contributes  vastly  to 
our  peace  of  mind  and  our  sound  sleep  to  feel 
that  he  can't  get  in." 

"But  after  the  fortifications  should  be  con 
structed  would  you  still  maintain  the  tax  on 
whiskey  ?  " 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  Blaine,  "so  long  as  there  is 
whiskey  to  tax  I  would  tax  it,  and  when  the 
National  Government  should  have  no  use  for  the 
money  I  would  divide  the  tax  among  the  mem 
bers  of  the  Federal  Union  with  the  specific  object 
of  lightening  the  tax  on  real  estate.  The  houses 
and  farms  of  the  whole  country  pay  too  large  a 
proportion  of  the  total  taxes.  If  ultimately  relief 
could  be  given  in  that  direction  it  would,  in  my 
judgment,  be  a  wise  and  beneficent  policy.  Some 


CQ2  JAMES    G.    JBLAINE. 

honest  but  misguided  friends  of  temperance  have 
urged  that  the  Government  should  not  use  the 
money  derived  from  the  tax  on  whiskey.  My 
reply  is  that  the  tax  on  whiskey  by  the  Federal 
Government,  with  its  suppression  of  all  illicit  dis 
tillation  and  consequent  enhancement  of  price, 
has  been  a  powerful  agent  in  the  temperance 
reform  by  putting  it  beyond  the  reach  of  so  many. 
The  amount  of  whiskey  consumed  in  the  United 
States  per  capita  to-day  is  not  more  than  forty 
per  cent,  of  that  consumed  thirty  years  ago." 

After  a  few  moments'  silence  Mr.  Elaine  added 
that  in  his  judgment  the  whiskey  tax  should  be  so 
modified  as  to  permit  all  who  use  pure  alcohol  in 
the  arts  or  in  mechanical  pursuits  to  have  it  free  of 
tax.  In  all  such  cases  the  tax  could  be  remitted 
without  danger  of  fraud,  just  as  now  the  tax  on 
spirits  exported  is  remitted. 

(<  Besides  your  general  and  sweeping  opposition 
to  the  President's  recommendation  have  you  any 
further  specific  objection  ?" 

"  Yes,"  answered  Mr.  Elaine  ;  "  I  should  seri 
ously  object  to  the  repeal  of  the  duty  on  wool. 
To  repeal  that  would  work  great  injustice  to  many 
interests  and  would  seriously  discourage  what  we 
should  earnestly  encourage,  namely,  the  sheep  cult 
ure  among  farmers  throughout  the  Union.  To 
break  down  wool-growing  and  be  dependent  on 
foreign  countries  for  the  blanket  under  which  we 
sleep  and  the  coat  that  covers  our  backs  is  not 


A  CHALLENGE  AND  ITS  ANSWER.  503 

a  wise  policy  for  the  National   Government   to 
enforce." 

"Do  you  think  if  the  President's  recommendation 
were  adopted  it  would  increase  our  export  trade  ?" 

"  Possibly  in  some  few  articles  of  peculiar  con 
struction  it  might,  but  it  would  increase  our 
import  trade  ten-fold  as  much  in  the  great  staple 
fabrics,  in  woolen  and  cotton  goods,  in  iron,  in 
steel,  in  all  the  thousand  and  one  shapes  in  which 
they  are  wrought.  How  are  we  to  export  staple 
fabrics  to  the  markets  of  Europe  unless  we  make 
them  cheaper  than  they  do  in  Europe,  and  how 
are  we  to  manufacture  them  cheaper  than  they  do 
in  Europe  unless  wre  get  cheaper  labor  than  they 
have  in  Europe?" 

/'Then   you   think  that  the   question  of  labor 
underlies  the  whole  subject?" 

"Of  course  it  does,"  replied  Mr.  Elaine.  "It 
is,  in  fact,  the  entire  question.  Whenever  we 
can  force  carpenters,  masons,  ironworkers  and 
mechanics  in  every  department  to  work  as  cheaply 
and  live  as  poorly  in  the  United  States  as  similar 
workmen  in  Europe,  we  can,  of  course,  manufact 
ure  just  as  cheaply  as  they  do  in  England  and 
France.  But  I  am  totally  opposed  to  a  policy 
that  would  entail  such  results.  To  attempt  it  is 
equivalent  to  a  social  and  financial  revolution,  one 
that  would  bring  untold  distress." 

"Yes,  but  might  not  the  great  farming  class  be 
benefited  by  importing  articles  from  Europe, 


^04  JAMES  G.   BLAINE. 

instead    of    buying    them    at    higher    prices    at 
home?" 

"The  moment,"  answered  Mr.  Elaine,  "you 
begin  to  import  freely  from  Europe  you  drive  our 
own  workmen  from  mechanical  and  manufacturing 
pursuits.  In  the  same  proportion  they  become  til 
lers  of  the  soil,  increasing  steadily  the  agricultural 
product  and  decreasing  steadily  the  large  home  de 
mand,  which  is  constantly  enlarging  as  home  man 
ufactures  enlarge.  That,  of  course,  works  great 
injury  to  the  farmer,  glutting  the  market  with  his 
products  and  tending  constantly  to  lower  prices." 

"  Yes,  but  the  foreign  demand  for  farm  products 
would  be  increased  in  like  ratio,  would  it  not?" 

"  Even  suppose  it  were,"  said  Mr.  Elaine,  "how 
do  you  know  the  source  from  which  it  will  be  • 
supplied?  The  tendency  in  Russia  to-day  and  in 
the  Asiatic  possessions  of  England  is  toward  a 
large  increase  of  the  grain  supply,  the  grain  being 
raised  by  the  cheapest  possible  labor.  Manufact 
uring  countries  will  buy  their  breadstuffs  where 
they  can  get  them  cheapest,  and  the  enlarging  of 
the  home  market  for  the  American  farmer  being 
checked  he  would  search  in  vain  for  one  of  the 
same  value.  His  foreign  sales  are  already 
checked  by  the  great  competition  abroad.  There 
never  was  a  time  when  the  increase  of  a  large 
home  market  was  so  valuable  to  him.  The  best 
proof  is  that  the  farmers  are  prosperous  in  pro 
portion  to  the  nearness  of  manufacturing  centres, 


BENJAMIN     HARRISON. 


./   CllALLf:\GE  AND  ITS  AXSU'F.R.  507 

and  a  protective  tariff  tends  to  spread  manufact 
ures.  In  Ohio  and  Indiana,  for  example,  though 
not  classed  as  manufacturing  States,  the  annual 
value  of  fabrics  is  larger  than  the  annual  value  of 

o 

agricultural  products." 

"But  those  holding  the  President's  views,"  re 
marked  the  reporter,  "are  always  quoting  the 
great  prosperity  of  the  country  under  the  tariff 
of  1846." 

4 'That  tariff  did  not  involve  the  one  destructive 
point  recommended  by  the  President,  namely,  the 
retaining  of  direct  internal  taxes  in  order  to  abol 
ish  indirect  taxes  levied  on  foreign  fabrics.  But 
the  country  had  peculiar  advantages  under  it  by 
the  Crimean  war,  involving  England,  France  and 
Russia,  and  largely  impairing  their  trade.  All 
these  incidents,  or  accidents,  if  you  choose,  were 
immensely  stimulating  to  trade  in  the  United 
States,  regardless  of  the  nature  of  our  tariff. 
But  mark  the  end  of  this  European  experience 
with  the  tariff  of  1846,  which  for  a  time  gave  an 
illusory  and  deceptive  show  of  prosperity.  Its 
enactment  was  immediately  followed  by  the  Mex 
ican  war  ;  then  in  1848  by  the  great  convulsions 
of  Europe  ;  then  in  1 849  and  succeeding  years 
by  the  enormous  gold  yield  in  California.  The 
Powers  made  peace  in  1856,  and  at  the  same 
time  the  output  of  gold  in  California  fell  off.  Im 
mediately  the  financial  panic  of  1857  came  upon 

the  country  with  disastrous  force.     Though  we 
29 


JAMES   G.    BLAJXE. 

had  in  these  years  mined  a  vast  amount  of  gold 
in  California,  every  bank  in  New  York  was  com 
pelled  to  suspend  specie  payment.  Four  hundred 
millions  in  gold  had  been  carried  out  of  the  coun 
try  in  eight  years  to  pay  for  foreign  goods  that 
should  have  been  manufactured  at  home,  and  we 
had  years  of  depression  and  distress  as  an  atone 
ment  for  our  folly. 

"It  is  remarkable  that  President  Polk  recom 
mended  the  tariff  of  1 846  on  precisely  the  same 
ground  that  President  Cleveland  recommends  a 
similar  enactment  now,  namely,  the  surplus  in  the 
Treasury  was  menacing  the  prosperity  of  the  coun 
try.  History  is  repeating  itself.  By  the  way," 
Mr.  Blaine  added,  after  a  moment's  reflection,  "it 
is  worth  notice  that  Mr.  Polk  insisted  on  emptying 
the  Treasury  by  a  free-trade  tariff,  then  immedi 
ately  rushed  the  country  into  debt  by  borrowing 
$150,000,000  for  the  Mexican  war.  I  trust  noth 
ing  may  occur  to  repeat  so  disastrous  a  sequel  to 
the  policy  recommended  by  President  Cleveland. 
But  the  uniform  fate  has  been  for  fifty  years  past 
that  the  Democratic  party  when  it  goes  out  of 
power  always  leaves  an  empty  Treasury,  and  when 
it  returns  to  power  always  finds  a  full  Treasury." 

"  Then  do  you  mean  to  imply  that  there  should 
be  no  reduction  of  the  National  revenue  ?  " 

"  No,  what  I  have  said  implies  the  reverse.  I 
would  reduce  it  by  a  prompt  repeal  of  the  tobacco 
tax  and  would  make  here  and  there  some  changes 


A  CHALLENGE  AND  ITS  ANSWER.  509 

in  the  tariff  not  to  reduce  protection,  but  wisely 
foster  it.  No  great  system  of  revenue  like  our 
tariff  can  operate  with  efficiency  and  equity  unless 
the  changes  of  trade  be  closely  watched  and  the 
law  promptly  adapted  to  those  changes.  But  1 
would  make  no  change  that  should  impair  the 
protective  character  of  the  whole  body  of  the 
tariff  laws.  Four  years  ago,  in  the  Act  of  1883, 
we  made  changes  of  the  character  I  have  tried  to 
indicate.  If  such  changes  were  made,  and  the 
fortifying  of  our  seacoast  thus  undertaken  at  a 
very  moderate  annual  outlay,  no  surplus  would 
be  found  after  that  already  accumulated  had  been 
disposed  of.  The  outlay  of  money  on  fortifica 
tions,  while  doing  great  service  to  the  country, 
would  give  good  work  to  many  men." 
"  But  what  about  the  existing  surplus  ?  " 
"  The  abstract  of  the  message  I  have  seen," 

o 

replied  Mr.  Blaine,  '  contains  no  reference  to  that 
point.  I,  therefore,  make  no  comment  further 
than  to  endorse  Mr.  Fred  Grant's  remark  that  a 
surplus  is  always  easier  to  handle  than  a  deficit." 

The  reporter  repeated  the  question  whether  the 
President's  recommendation  would  not,  if  adopted, 
give  us  the  advantage  of  a  large  increase  in  exports. 

"  I  only  repeat,"  answered  Mr.  Blaine,  "  that  it 
would  vastly  enlarge  our  imports,  while  the  only 
export  it  would  seriously  increase  would  be  our 
gold  and  silver.  That  would  flow  out  bounteously 
just  as  it  did  under  the  tariff  of  1846.  The 


510  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

President's  recommendation  enacted  into  law 
would  result  as  did  an  experiment  in  drainage  of 
a  man  who  wished  to  turn  a  swamp  into  a  pro 
ductive  field.  He  dug  a  drain  to  a  neighboring 
river,  but  it  happened,  unfortunately,  that  the 
level  of  the  river  was  higher  than  the  level  of  the 
swamp.  The  consequence  need  not  be  told.  A 
parallel  would  be  found  when  the  President's 
policy  in  attempting  to  open  a  channel  for  an  in 
crease  of  exports  should  simply  succeed  in  mak 
ing  way  for  a  deluging  inflow  of  fabrics  to  the 
destruction  of  home  industry." 

"  But  don't  you  think  it  important  to  increase 
our  export  trade  ?  " 

"  Undoubtedly  ;  but  it  is  vastly  more  important 
not  to  lose  our  own  great  market  for  our  own 
people  in  the  vain  effort  to  reach  the  impossible. 
It  is  not  our  foreign  trade  that  has  caused  the 
wonderful  growth  and  expansion  of  the  republic. 
It  is* the  vast  domestic  trade  between  thirty-eight 
States  and  eight  Territories,  with  their  population 
of,  perhaps,  62,000,000  to-day.  The  whole 
amount  of  our  export  and  import  trade  together 
has  never,  I  think,  reached  $1,900,000,000  any 
one  year.  Our  internal  home  trade  on  130,000 
miles  of  railway,  along  1 5,000  miles  of  ocean  coast, 
over  the  five  great  lakes  and  along  20,000  miles 
of  navigable  rivers,  reaches  the  enormous  annual 
aggregate  of  more  than  $40,000,000,000,  and 
perhaps  this  year  $50,000,000,000. 


,-/   CHA  L  L ENGE  A ND  I TS  A  .YS  WF.R.  5  1 1 

"It  is  into  this  illimitable  trade,  even  now  in  its 
infancy  and  destined  to  attain  a  magnitude  not 
dreamed  of  twenty  years  ago,  that  the  Europeans 
are  struggling  to  enter.  It  is  the  heritage  of  the 
American  people,  of  their  children  and  of  their 
children's  children.  It  gives  an  absolutely  free 
trade  over  a  territory  nearly  as  large  as  all  Europe, 
and  the  profit  is  all  our  own.  The  genuine  Free- 
Trader  appears  unable  to  see  or  comprehend  that 
this  continental  trade — not  our  exchanges  with 
Europe — is  the  great  source  of  our  prosperity. 
President  Cleveland  now  plainly  proposes  a  policy 
that  will  admit  Europe  to  a  share  of  this  trade." 

"  But  you  are  in  favor  of  extending  our  foreign 
trade,  are  you  not  ?" 

"  Certainly  I  am,  in  all  practical  and  advanta 
geous  ways,  but  not  on  the  principle  of  the  Free- 
Traders,  by  which  we  shall  be  constantly  exchang 
ing  dollar  for  dime.  Moreover,  the  foreign  trade 
is  often  very  delusive.  Cotton  is  manufactured 
in  the  city  of  my  residence.  If  a  box  of  cotton 
goods  is  sent  200  miles  to  the  province  of  New- 
Brunswick,  it  is  foreign  trade.  If  shipped  1 7,000 
miles  round  Cape  Horn  to  Washington  Territory, 
it  is  domestic  trade.  The  magnitude  of  the  Union 
and  the  immensity  of  its  internal  trade  require  a 
new  political  economy.  The  treatises  written  for  Eu 
ropean  States  do  not  grasp  our  peculiar  situation." 

"  How  will  the  President's  message  be  taken  in 
the  South  ?"  "  I  don't  dare  to  answer  that  question. 


512  JAMES   G.    ELAINE. 

The  truth  has  been  so  long  obscured  by 
certain  local  questions  of  unreasoning  prejudice 
that  nobody  can  hope  for  industrial  enlightenment 
among  their  leaders  just  yet.  But  in  my  view 
the  South  above  all  sections  of  the  Union  needs  a 
protective  tariff.  The  two  Virginias,  North 
Carolina,  Kentucky,  Missouri,  Tennessee,  Ala 
bama  and  Georgia  have  enormous  resources  and 
facilities  for  developing  and  handling  manufact 
ures.  They  cannot  do  anything  without  protec 
tion.  Even  progress  so  vast  as  some  of  those 
States  have  made  will  be  checked  if  the  Presi 
dent's  message  is  enacted  into  law.  Their  Sena 
tors  and  Representatives  can  prevent  it,  but  they 
are  so  used  to  following  anything  labelled  'Demo 
cratic  '  that  very  probably  they  will  follow  the 
President  and  blight  the  progress  already  made. 
By  the  time  some  of  the  Southern  States  get  free 
iron  ore  and  coal,  while  tobacco  is  taxed,  they  may 
have  occasion  to  sit  down  and  calculate  the  value 
of  Democratic  free  trade  to  their  local  interests." 

"  Will  not  the  President's  recommendation  to 
admit  raw  material  find  strong  support?  " 

"  Not  by  wise  Protectionists  in  our  time.  Per 
haps  some  greedy  manufacturers  may  think  that 
with  free  coal  or  free  iron  ore  they  can  do  great 
things,  but  if  they  should  succeed  in  trying,  will, 
as  the  boys  say,  catch  it  on  the  rebound.  If  the 
home  trade  in  raw  material  is  destroyed  or  seri 
ously  injured  railroads  will  be  the  first  to  feel  it. 


A   CHALLENGE  AND  ITS  ANSWER.  513 

If  that  vast  interest  is  crippled  in  any  direction 
the  financial  fabric  of  the  whole  country  will  feel 
it  quickly  and  seriously.  If  any  man  can  give  a  rea 
son  why  we  should  arrange  the  tariff  to  favor  the 
raw  material  of  other  countries  in  a  competition 
against  our  material  of  the  same  kind,  I  should 
like  to  hear  it.  Should  that  recommendation  of 
the  President  be  approved  it  would  turn  100,000 
American  laborers  out  of  employment  before  it 
had  been  a  year  in  operation." 

"What  must  be  the  marked  and  general  effect 
of  the  President's  message?" 

"  It  will  bring  the  country  where  it  ought  to  be 
brought — to  a  full  and  fair  contest  on  the  question 
of  protection.  The  President  himself  makes  it 
the  one  issue  by  presenting  no  other  in  his  mes 
sage.  I  think  it  well  to  have  the  question  settled. 
The  Democratic  party  in  power  is  a  standing  men 
ace  to  the  industrial  prosperity  of  the  country. 
That  menace  should  be  removed  or  the  policy  it 
foreshadows  should  be  made  certain.  Nothing  is 
so  mischievous  to  business  as  uncertainty,  nothing 
so  paralyzing  as  doubt." 

This  interview  was  published  in  New  York  on 
December  8th,  the  very  day  after  the  publication  of 
President  Cleveland's  message.  The  Republican 
party  hailed  it  with  delight,  as  a  most  effective 
reply  to  the  Democratic  pronunciamento  ;  and  on 
that  date  the  issues  were  joined  and  the  Presiden 
tial  campaign  of  1888  was  begun. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

AMERICAN    DIPLOMACY. 

The  Convention  of  1888 — Mr.  Blaine's  Work  in  the  Campaign — The 
Harrison  Administration — Mr.  Blaine's  Second  Term  as  Secretary  of 
State — The  Samoan  Affair — Extradition — The  Pan-American  Con 
ference — Reciprocity  and  Its  Results — American  Pork  in  European 
Markets — The  Fisheries — Bering  Sea — Controversies  with  Chili  and 
with  Italy — A  Notable  Chapter  in  American  Diplomacy. 

As  the  time  for  holding  the  National  Republi 
can  Convention  of  1888  drew  near,  the  great 
mass  of  that  party  looked  to  Mr.  Elaine  as  certain 
to  be  the  chosen  candidate.  He  was  absent  from 
the  country,  and,  far  from  making  any  efforts  to 
secure  the  nomination,  was  understood  to  be 
reluctant  to  receive  it.  But  his  friends  would 
take  no  denial.  Repeated  reverses  had  only 
intensified  their  determination  to  put  him  in  the 
Presidential  chair.  And  since  Mr.  Cleveland  was 
to  be  the  Democratic  candidate,  on  the  platform 
indicated  by  his  message  of  1887,  it  seemed 
eminently  fitting  that  Mr.  Elaine,  who  had  made 
such  an  effective  reply  to  that  message,  should 
be  selected  to  oppose  him. 

Mr.  Cleveland  was  promptly  nominated  for 
a  second  term  by  the  Democratic  National  Con 
vention  which  met  at  St.  Louis  on  June  5th.  At 
the  same  time  news  came  from  Oregon  that  the 


AMERICAN  DIPL  OMA  CY.  515 

election  in  that  State  had  resulted  in  an  over 
whelming  Republican  victory.  The  tariff  had 
been  the  issue  in  the  contest,  and  Mr.  Cleveland's 
free  trade  doctrines  had  been  squarely  repudiated. 
This  was  a  happy  omen  for  the  Republicans,  and 
when  their  Convention  met  at  Chicago,  on  June 
1 9th,  they  were  in  high  spirits  and  confident  of 
victory  at  the  polls  in  November.  All  was  uncer 
tainty  as  to  their  standard-bearer,  however.  Mr. 
Elaine  had  written  from  Florence,  Italy,  some 
months  before,  explicitly  declaring  that  he  was  not 
a  candidate.  Yet  many  of  his  followers  were  deter 
mined  to  brinpf  his  name  before  the  Convention. 

o 

There  were  also  strong  movements  in  favor  of 
other  candidates,  such  as  the  Hon.  Chauncey  M. 
Depew,  of  New  York  ;  the  Hon.  John  Sherman, 
of  Ohio  ;  the  Hon.  Benjamin  Harrison,  of  Indiana; 
the  Hon.  Walter  Q.  Gresham,  of  Illinois;  and 
the  Hon.  Russel  A.  Alger,  of  Michigan.  It  was 
commonly  felt,  however,  that  the  choice  of  the 
Convention  would  ultimately  be  decided  by  the 
vote  of  New  York.  Not  only  was  the  delegation 
from  that  State  the  most  numerous,  but  it  was 
recognized  that  its  preference  should  have 
especial  weight  since  New  York  was  a  doubtful 
and  pivotal  State,  upon  whose  vote  the  result  of 
the  election  would  probably  depend. 

The  platform  adopted  was  strongly  protectionist 
in  tenor,  and  it  also  contained  ringing  utterances 
on  the  question  of  free  and  honest  elections. 


516  JAMES  C.    BLAINE* 

During  the  organization  of  the  Convention  and 
adoption  of  platform,  which  occupied  two  days, 
Mr.  Elaine's  name  was  cheered  to  the  echo 
whenever  it  was  mentioned,  and  the  idea  that  he 
would  be  nominated  in  spite  of  himself  steadily 
grew.  When  the  various  candidates  were  formally 
placed  before  the  Convention,  however,  he  was 
not  among  them.  They  were  Messrs.  Hawley, 
Gresham,  Harrison,  Alger,  Allison,  Depew,  Sher 
man,  Fitler  and  Rusk.  When  balloting  began, 
several  others  were  also  voted  for.  California 
cast  sixteen  votes  for  Mr.  Elaine,  and  he  received 
enough  scattering  votes  from  other  States  to  give 
him  a  total  of  35.  For  the  three  ballots  held  on 
the  first  day  of  voting,  Mr.  Elaine's  support  re 
mained  at  35  ;  although  he  would  have  been 
nominated  by  a  whirlwind  of  acclamation  at  any 
moment  when  he  had  withdrawn  his  refusal  to  be 
considered  as  a  candidate.  That  refusal,  how 
ever,  he  did  not  withdraw.  On  the  contrary,  he 
made  it  known  by  cable  from  Great  Britain  that 
he  resolutely  adhered  to  and  insisted  upon  it. 
On  the  first  ballot,  John  Sherman  had  229  votes, 
W.  O.  Gresham  in,  Chauncey  M.  Depew  99, 
R.  A.  Alger  84,  and  Benjamin  Harrison  79.  By 
the  third  ballot  the  withdrawal  of  minor  candidates 
had  increased  the  vote  for  these  leaders,  especially 
that  for  Alger.  But  no  one  was  near  the  415 
needed.  Then  the  Convention  adjourned  until 
the  next  day.  The  fifth  ballot,  the  next  day,  saw 


AMERICAN  DIFL OMA CY.  5  1 7 

Air.  Elaine's  vote  increased  to  42,  while  Sherman 
had  224,  Gresham  87,  Alger  142,  and  Harrison 
213.  Depew  had  been  withdrawn  in  Harrison's 
favor.  The  Convention  adjourned  over  Sunday, 
and  on  Monday  ended  its  labors.  On  the  eighth 
ballot  Mr.  Harrison  was  nominated,  by  544  votes. 
Five  delegates  voted  for  Mr.  Blaine  to  the  very 
end. 

In  this  result  Mr.  Blaine  acquiesced  most  cor 
dially  and  with  not  a  trace  of  disappointment.  He 
had  voluntarily  placed  and  kept  himself  out  of  the 
race.  The  men  who  had  secured  Harrison's 
nomination  were  Mr.  Blaine's  friends  and  follow 
ers,  and  they  had  chosen  a  man  who  was  Mr. 
Blains's  friend,  on  a  platform  inspired  by  Mr. 
Blaine's  own  masterly  presentation  of  ,the  issues 
of  the  day.  Amid  the  flood  of  congratulations 
that  poured  in  upon  the  chosen  candidate  none 
was  more  hearty  than  Mr.  Blaine's,  and  no  one 
more  earnestly  than  he  entered  upon  the  work  of 
the  campaign  or  more  enthusiastically  looked  for 
victory  at  the  polls. 

Mr.  Blaine  returned  from  his  European  tour  in 
August,  arriving  in  New  York  on  the  tenth  of 
that  month.  He  was  greeted  with  such  public 
demonstrations  of  honor,  joy  and  welcome  as 
have  fallen  to  the  lot  of  few  men  in  this  or  any 
other  land.  There  was  a  parade  of  tens  of 
thousands  of  enthusiastic  Republicans,  and  the 
whole  imperial  metropolis  seemed  ablaze  with 


518  JAMES   G.   ELAINE. 

bunting  and  vocal  with  hurrahs.  There  was 
speech-making,  of  course,  galore  ;  the  best  of  it 
by  Mr.  Blaine  himself.  In  the  brief  responses 
which  he  made  to  various  addresses  of  welcome, 
he  spoke  with  all  his  accustomed  vigor  and  effect 
upon  the  living  political  issues  of  the  day.  Pro 
tection  to  American  industry  was  the  key-note ; 
and  he  added  to  his  cogent  arguments  the  im 
pressive  testimony  of  personal  observation  of  the 
pauperized  labor  of  the  Old  World. 

From  New  York  Mr.  Blaine  presently  went  to 
his  old  home  in  Maine,  stopping  at  Boston  and 
other  points  to  receive  the  greetings  of  his  fellow- 
citizens.  A  few  weeks  later  he  placed  himself 
fully  and  actively  at  the  head  of  his  party  in  the 
campaign  that  was  so  hotly  raging.  He  visited 
every  important  town  and  city  in  many  States, 
addressing  everywhere  assemblages  whose  size 
was  only  limited  by  the  walls  of  the  containing 
buildings,  or  by  the  means  of  transportation 
thither.  Sometimes  he  spoke  at  two  or  three  or 
four  meetings  in  one  day.  His  physical  strength 
seemed  inexhaustible  ;  his  eloquence  grew  even 
more  and  more  stirring  in  each  new  effort ;  his 
arguments  and  exhortations  were  irresistible. 
Down  to  the  very  eve  of  the  election  he  kept  at 
the  work,  winning  every  hour  new  voters  for  his 
party.  And  when  the  election  was  over,  and  Mr. 
Harrison  was  handsomely  victorious,  there  was 
not  a  dissenting  voice  in  the  chorus  that 


.  \MKRICA.Y  ffifPL  OMA  C ) .  519 

attributed  the  lion's  share  of  the  credit  to  James 
G.  Elaine. 

Whatever  hesitancy  President  Harrison  may 
have  had  in  the  selection  of  the  other  member:, 
of  his  Cabinet,  he  doubtless  had  none  regarding 
the  Secretary  of  State.  He  was  glad  to  honor 
the  man  who  had  so  powerfully  aided  his  cam 
paign  by  giving  to  him  that  important  post  ;  glad, 
too,  thus  to  grant  the  well-nigh  universal  wish  of 
his  party.  Nor  were  Republicans  alone  anxious 
to  see  Mr.  Elaine  a  second  time  made  Secretary 
of  State.  Multitudes  of  his  political  opponents 
rejoiced  in  the  appointment,  remembering  his 
brilliant  though  brief  administration  in  1881,  and 
knowing  that  in  his  hands  the  welfare  of  Ameri 
can  interests  and  the  honor  of  the  American  flag 
would  be  secure.  Accordingly,  Mr.  Elaine  re 
turned,  in  March,  1889,  to  the  office  from  which 
he  had  retired  in  December,  1881,  and  took  up 
the  work  which  had  then  been  interrupted,  a 
work  for  the  welfare  of  the  United  States,  and 
for  the  welfare  of  all  other  nations  with  whom 
this  country  comes  in  contact. 

Early  in  Mr.  Elaine's  second  administration  of 
the  State  Department  two  highly  important  trea 
ties  were  negotiated  and  ratified.  One  of  these, 
arranged  at  Berlin,  related  to  Samoa,  where 
American,  German  and  British  interests  came 
sharply  into  contact.  The  Germans  had  pursued 
an  aggressive  policy,  had  deposed  the  rightful 


520  JAMES   G.   BLAINE. 

king  and  set  up  a  pretender  in  his  place,  and 
were  riding  roughshod  over  the  rights  not  only  of 
the  natives  but  of  the  American  citizens  settled 
there.  Calmly  but  firmly  Mr.  Elaine,  through  the 
American  Commissioners  at  Berlin,  insisted  upon 
a  restoration,  by  the  Germans  themselves,  of  the 
deposed  king,  the  recognition  of  equal  rights  and 
privileges  for  the  three  powers  interested,  the  sup 
pression  of  the  sale  of  fire-arms  and  alcoholic 
liquors  to  the  natives  and  various  other  reforms. 
To  these  demands  Germany  was  constrained  to 
yield,  and  the  result  was  a  signal  triumph  for  the 
American  foreign  policy,  and  also  for  international 
comity. 

An  attempt  had  been  made  by  Mr.  Elaine's  pre 
decessor  to  negotiate  a  new  extradition  treaty 
with  Great  Eritain,  but  it  had  failed.  Mr.  Elaine 
began  fresh  negotiations  on  a  new  basis  and  soon 
succeeded  in  concluding  a  treaty  which  vastly 
enlarged  and  improved  the  list  of  extraditable 
offences. 

An  International  Marine  Conference,  compris 
ing  representatives  of  thirty-three  nations,  was 
held  at  Washington,  and  formulated  much  valu 
able  legislation  for  the  better  protection  of  travel 
by  sea. 

Still  more  important  was  the  Pan-American 
Conference,  which  opened  at  Washington  on  Oc 
tober  2,  1889,  in  pursuance  of  the  plans  formed  by 
Mr.  Elaine  in  the  Garfield  administration  but 


AMERICAN  DIPLOMACY 


52T 


unfortunately  abandoned  by  his  successor.  This 
conference  was  in  session  twenty  weeks,  including 
an  extended  trip  through  most  of  the  States  of 
the  Union.  The  objects  of  its  consideration  were  : 
Measures  that  should  tend  to  preserve  the  peace1 
and  promote  the  prosperity  of  the  various  Ameri 
can  States ;  measures  toward  the  formation  of  an 
American  Customs  Union ;  the  establishment  of 
regular  and  frequent  communication  between  the 
ports  of  the  various  States  ;  the  adoption  of  uni 
form  systems  of  customs  regulation,  quarantine 
laws,  weights  and  measures,  patent  rights,  extra 
dition,  etc.,  and  various  other  allied  topics.  It 
was  not  to  be  expected  that  every  end  in  view 
would  be  immediately  attained.  But  the  discus 
sions  and  reports  were  rich  in  permanent  value  to 
all  the  nations  interested,  and,  as  Mr.  Elaine  well 
said  in  a  brief  address  at  the  close  of  the  confer 
ence,  that  larger  patriotism,  which  constitutes  the 
fraternity  of  nations,  received  an  impulse  such  as 
the  world  had  not  before  seen. 

Fittingly  succeeding  this  came  Mr.  Elaine's  pro 
posal  for  an  extended  system  of  customs  reci 
procity,  especially  with  the  various  States  and 
colonies  of  the  American  continent.  This  was 
formally  broached  in  a  letter  written  by  Mr. 
Elaine  to  the  President  and  by  him  transmitted  to 
Congress  in  June,  1890.  Mr.  Elaine  submitted 
therewith  the  report  upon  "  Customs  Union" 
adopted  by  the  Pan-American  Conference,  and 


522  JAMES  G,  ELAINE. 

added  some  strong  arguments  of  his  own  and  a 
most  impressive  array  of  facts  and  figures,  de 
monstrating  the  great  advantages  to  be  attained 
by  the  adoption  of  such  a  system.  l<To  escape 
the  delay  of  uncertainty  of  treaties,"  he  wrote, 
"  it  has  been  suggested  that  a  practicable  and 
prompt  mode  of  testing  the  question  was  to  sub 
mit  an  amendment  to  the  pending  Tariff  bill 
authorizing  the  President  to  declare  the  ports  of 
the  United  States  free  to  all  the  products  of  any 
nation  of  the  American  Hemisphere  upon  which 
no  export  duties  are  imposed,  whenever  and  so 
long  as  such  nation  shall  admit  to  its  ports  free 
of  all  taxes  our  flour,  corn  meal  and  other  bread 
stuffs,  preserved  meats,  fish,  vegetables  and 
fruits,"  and  a  considerable  number  of  other  arti 
cles  of  agricultural  and  manufactory  product 

Mr.  Elaine  had  already  personally  urged  upon 
the  members  of  the  committee  of  Congress  in 
charge  of  the  Tariff  bill  the  desirability  of  such 
an  amendment.  The  President  now  added 
thereto  a  message  containing  his  own  recommen 
dations  to  the  same  effect,  and  Senator  Hale  finally 
offered  an  amendment  to  the  Tariff  bill  formulated 
by  Mr.  McKinley,  comprising  the  exact  provisions 
suggested  by  Mr.  Elaine.  This  amendment  was 
adopted  and  the  principle  of  reciprocity  with 
American  nations  was  thus  embodied  in  the  Mc 
Kinley  Tariff  Bill,  which  in  the  fall  of  1890  be 
came  a  law. 


«     /  -.   ~' 


EMMONS  ELAINE. 


A  ME  RICA  N  DJPL  OMA  CY.  ^  2  * 

Brazil  was  the  first  nation  to  accept  the  offer  of 
reciprocal  trade  relations.  The  Spanish  West 
Indies  followed.  Then  came  Santo  Domingo. 
And  presently  other  South  and  Central  American 
nations  and  even  the  British  colonies  in  the  West 
Indies  found  it  to  their  advantage  to  do  the  same. 
The  results  fully  equalled  the  expectations  of  the 
author  of  the  system.  Almost  immediately  there 
was  a  great  increase  in  the  export  trade  of  tbe 
United  States  to  those  countries,  and  since  that 
time  there  has  been  a  steady  and  almost  signifi 
cant  increase  of  commercial  relations  between 
this  country  and  its  southern  neighbors,  to  the 
present  and  permanent  advantage  of  both. 

Another  highly  important  work  in  the  interest 
of  American  commerce  was  effected  by  the  State 
Department  during  Mr.  Elaine's  second  adminis 
tration  thereof.  Beginning  with  Italy  in  1879,  one 
European  country  after  another  had  prohibited 
the  importation  of  American  pork,  until,  at  the 
commencement  of  President  Harrison's  adminis 
tration,  that  important  product  was  practically 
excluded  from  the  markets  of  Austria-Hungary, 
France,  Germany,  Denmark,  Italy,  Spain  and 
Turkey.  This  subject  received  at  once  the 
earnest  attention  of  the  President  and  his  Secre 
tary  of  StatQ,  and  instructions  concerning  it  were 
given  to  Mr.  Whitelaw  Reid,  the  Minister  at 
Paris,  Mr.  William  Wralter  Phelps,  the  Minister 
at  Berlin,  and  the  other  representatives  of  the 
3° 


526  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

government  abroad.  A  law  was  also  passed 
providing  for  the  inspection  of  meat  products  and 
empowering  the  President  to  prohibit  in  certain 
cases  importations  from  countries  excluding 
American  pork  from  their  markets.  The  result 
of  this  diplomacy  and  legislation  was  the  removal 
of  the  prohibition  by  Austria-Hungary,  Denmark, 
France,  Germany,  Italy  and  Spain,  all  within  less 
than  nine  months,  and  the  markets  of  Europe 
were  thus  reopened  to  a  vast  and  valuable 
American  export  trade. 

For  some  years  there  had  been  more  or  less 
friction  between  America  and  Fngland  regarding 
the  rights  of  American  fishermen  in  Canadian 
waters.  In  many  instances  intolerable  hardships 
and  outrages  had  been  inflicted  upon  the  fisher 
men,  and  their  demand  for  redress  was  urgent. 
To  this  demand  Mr.  Elaine  made  prompt 
response,  and  showed  himself  easily  the  master  of 
the  Canadian  and  British  officials  in  diplomatic 
controversy.  Another  still  more  important  sub 
ject  of  contention  between  the  two  countries  was 
that  of  sealing  rights  in  Bering  Sea.  In  virtue  of 
its  purchase  of  Alaska  and  the  included  waters 
from  Russia,  the  United  States  claimed  exclusive 
jurisdiction  over  the  eastern  portion  of  that  sea, 
including  the  islands  which  are  the  resort  of  the 
great  herds  of  fur-seals.  For  the  protection 
of  these  valuable  animals  it  adopted  certain  reg 
ulations  concerning  their  capture,  limiting  the 


A  ME  K  1C  A  X  D1PL  OMA  CY.  .  2  - 

annual  catch  to  a  certain  number,  and  stationed 
revenue  cutters  in  those  waters  to  see  that  the 
law  was  observed.  These  regulations  were 
defied  by  numerous  poachers,  who  fitted  out 
their  vessels  under  the  British  flag  in  Canadian 
ports  and  who  wrought  incalculable  mischief  by 
promiscuous  slaughter  of  the  seals.  The  United 
States  Government  promptly  ordered  the  capture 
and  confiscation  of  all  these  vessels.  Thereupon 
the  poachers  appealed  to  the  Canadian  Govern 
ment,  and  it  in  turn  appealed  to  the  British 
Government,  for  protection,  and  a  long  and 
vigorous  controversy  ensued  between  Mr.  Blaine 
and  Lord  Salisbury.  The  range  of  discussion 
included  the  rights  of  America  in  Bering  sea,  on 
historical  and  legal  grounds,  and  also  the  practical 
necessity  of  protecting  the  seal  herds  from 
threatened  destruction.  At  every  stage  of  the 
controversy  Mr.  Blaine  showed  himself  absolute 
master  of  the  case  and  more  than  a  match  for  his 
British  antagonist.  A  modus  vivendi,  in  accord 
ance  with  the  American  demands,  was  finally 
established  until  such  time  as  a  permanent  settle 
ment  of  conflicting  claims  shall  be  effected. 

An  important  episode  in  the  history  of  the  State 
Department  occurred  in  1891  and  1892.  At  that 
time  a  popular  revolution  occurred  in  Chili  against 
the  President,  Balmaceda,  who  had  usurped 
dictatorial  authority  and  was  playing  the  part  of 
a  tyrant.  The  American  Minister  at  Santiago. 


528  JAMES    G.    BLAINE. 

Mr.  Egan,  was  accredited  to  the  Balmaceda 
government  and  could  not,  of  course,  recognize 
the  revolutionary  government  until  it,  had  fully 
accomplished  its  purposes  and  become  the  sole 
and  absolute  authority.  His  position  was  a  deli 
cate  one,  and  relations  between  the  United 
States  and  the  new  government  in  Chili  became 
much  strained.  A  number  of  Americans  were 
assaulted  and  some  murdered  in  the  streets  of 
Valparaiso,  and  for  a  time  there  was  loud  talk  of 
war  between  the  two  countries.  Under  Mr. 
Elaine's  management  the  influence  of  the  State 
Department  was  exerted  in  the  direction  of  peace, 
and  at  the  same  time  for  a  vindication  of  the- 
honor  of  the  American  flag  and  the  rights 
of  American  citizens ;  and  in  the  end  these 
objects  were  entirely  and  satisfactorily  accom 
plished. 

A  controversy  arose  with  Italy  in  1891,  over 
the  lynching  of  several  murderous  criminals  of 
Italian  origin  in  New  Orleans.  Diplomatic  re 
lations  between  the  two  countries  were  for  a  time 
suspended.  But  Mr.  Elaine,  by  masterly  argu 
ment,  first  demonstrated  the  entire  freedom  of 
the  United  States  Government  from  blame  and 
responsibility  in  the  matter,  and  then  handsomely 
soothed  Italian  susceptibilities  by  voluntarily 
offering  from  the  contingent  fund  of  the  State 
Department  a  liberal  indemnity  to  the  families  of 
the  men  who  had  been  lynched.  Thus  this 


AMEKICAX  DIPLOMACY.  529 

unpleasant  incident   was    ended   peacefully    and 
honorably. 

Of  all  the  other  activities  of  the  State  Depart 
ment  under  Mr.  Elaine's  wise  direction  it  is 
impossible  here  to  speak.  Many  of  these  matters 
are  still  incomplete.  Others  are  not  yet  fully 
understood  by  the  world,  so  that  much  time  must 
yet  elapse  before  their  full  significance  is  seen  and 
appreciated.  But  enough  has  already  gone  on 
record,  read  and  known  of  all  men,  to  assure  the 
utmost  confidence  for  the  future,  and  to  stamp 
Mr.  Elaine's  administration,  of  the  Department  of 
State  as  not  only  one  of  the  most  brilliant  periods 
in  American  diplomacy,  but  as  a  most  notable  era 
in  the  world's  international  history. 


CHAPTER   XVIII. 

THE    MAN. 

Foreign  Travels  and  Literary  Work — The  London  Times 's  Estimate  of 
"  Twenty  Years  of  Congress" — Mr.  Blaine's  Home  at  Augusta — His 
Washington  House — His  Bar  Harbor  Cottage — The  Children  of  the 
Household — A  Brief  Glance  at  Some  of  Mr.  Blaine's  Personal  Char 
acteristics. 

It  is  not  the  object  of  the  present  work  to  offer 
an  analytical  view  of  Mr.  Blaine's  private  life  and 
personal  characteristics.  The  record  of  his  pub 
lic  words  and  works  is  all  that  can  fittingly  occupy 
our  present  attention.  But  even  this  record  is 
not  complete  without  an  outlined  portrait  of  the 
man  as  he  appears  to  his  friends  and  associates 
in  public  life  and  as  he  conducts  himself  in  the 
manifold  activities  of  his  busy  career.  During 
the  years  of  his  retirement  from  public  office  be 
tween  1881  and  1889,  his  time  was  largely  occu 
pied  in  European  travel  and  in  literary  pursuits. 
Mention  has  already  been  made  of  his  tour  abroad, 
where  he  visited  most  of  the  important  centres 
of  interest  of  the  Old  World  and  formed  the 
personal  acquaintance  of  eminent  people  in  many 
lands. 

530 


THE  MAN.  5  3  i 

Early  in  1884  ne  published  the  first  volume  of 
his  great  historical  work,  "Twenty  Years  of  Con 
gress,"  and  in  1885  the  second  volume  was 
issued.  This  work  presents  a  comprehensive  and 
impartial  view  of  the  life  of  the  American  nation 
from  1860  to  1880,  prefaced  by  a  careful  con 
sideration  of  the  train  of  events  which  led  to  the 
political  revolution  of  1860.  The  book  is  too  well 
known  to  the  reading  public  of  America  to  require 
extended  notice  here.  It  attracted  wide  atten 
tion  throughout  the  world.  English  reviewers 
regarded  it  as  one  of  the  most  important  contribu 
tions  to  the  standard  literature  of  the  day.  "  His 
book,"  said  The  London  Times,  "is  in  no  sense 
a  party  manifesto  ;  it  is  a  careful  narrative ; 
popular,  but  nojt  undignified  in  style,  and  remark 
ably  fair  and  moderate  in  tone.  He  has  ex 
pressed  a  decided  opinion  on  all  issues  involved 
in  the  Civil  War,  but  he  is  able  to  appreciate  the 
arguments  and  respect  the  motives  of  those 
whom  he  holds  to  have  been  most  widely  mis 
taken." 

Following  this  work  in  1887  Mr.  Elaine 
published  a  volume  entitled  "Political  Discus 
sions,"  in  which  were  collected  his  most  notable 
addresses  and  papers,  legislative,  diplomatic  and 
popular,  during  the  thirty  years  of  his  public 
life. 

Mr.  Elaine's  home  has  been  in  Augusta,  Maine, 
ever  since  he  removed  thither  from  Philadelphia. 


532  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

During  his  official  life  he  of  course  has  had  a 
second  home  in  Washington,  and  of  late  years  he 
has  had  also  a  summer  home  at  Bar  Harbor, 
Mount  Desert  Island.  Each  of  these  has  been 
the  resort  of  countless  public  men  and  each  has 
always  been  open  with  a  hearty  welcome  to  Mr. 
Elaine's  almost  innumerable  friends.  The  capital 
of  Maine  is  a  handsome  little  city  on  both  banks 
of  the  Kennebec  river,  built'on  a  series  of  terraces 
extending,  one  above  the  other,  from  the  edge  of 
the  water.  For  a  few  years  Mr.  Elaine  lived  in 
one  half  of  a  double  house  on  Green  street. 
But  in  1862  he  purchased  a- large  square  house 
at  the  corner  of  State  and  Capital  streets,  opposite 
the  grounds  of  the  State  House.  It  is  a  plain 
and  unpretentious  dwelling,  but  large  and  com 
modious  and  invested  with  an  air  of  comfort,  cult 
ure  and  hospitality.  The  visitor  finds  it  well 
stocked  with  books  and  pictures,  and  in  all 
respects  the  appropriate  home  of  one  who  was  at 
once  a  statesman,  a  scholar,  and  a  man  of  the 
people. 

At  Washington  Mr.  Elaine  purchased  a  fine 
lot  on  Dupont  circle,  in  the  northwestern  part  of 
the  city,  and  erected  thereon  a  large  and  splendid 
mansion.  On  its  completion  he  lived  there  for  a 
time  and  then,  finding  the  house  larger  than  he 
required,  leased  it  and  rented  for  his  own  occu 
pancy  a  smaller  house  on  Jackson  square,  near 
the  White  House. 


THE  MAN.  533 

His  cottage  at  Bar  Harbor  was  a  typical  Ameri 
can  summer  home,  and  was  occupied  by  Mr. 
Blaine  and  his  family  for  two  or  three  months  in 
each  year. 

The  first  child  born  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blaine 
died  in  infancy.  Six  other  children  have  grown 
to  maturity,  three  sons  and  three  daughters. 
The  eldest  son,  Walker,  was  educated  at  Yale 
University  and  at  the  Law  School  of  Columbia 
College.  He  chose  to  follow  in  his  father's  foot 
steps  in  political  life,  for  which  he  showed  extraor 
dinary  ability.  For  some  time  he  was  one  of 
the  counsel  for  the  United  States  in  the  Court  of 
Commissioners  of  Alabama  Claims.  At  the  be 
ginning  of  the  Harrispn  Administration,  on 
March  13,  1889,  he  was  made  Examiner  of 
Claims  in  the  State  Department.  This  important 
position  he  filled  with  distinction  for  only  nine 
months,  his  death  occurring  on  January  15,  1890. 
Thus  was  ended,  to  the  bereavement  of  his  family 
and  the  regret  of  the  Nation,  a  career  that  prom 
ised  to  be  comparable  with  that  of  his  father  in 
important  and  distinguished  public  services.  The 
second  son,  Emmons  Blaine,  was  educated  at 
Harvard  University,  and  has  risen  to  an  import 
ant  place  in  Western  railroad  affairs.  The  youngest 
son,  James  G.  Blaine,  Jr.,  is  destined  for  a  busi 
ness  career. 

The  three  daughters  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blaine 
were  named  Alice,  Margaret  and  Harriet.  The 


534  JAMES  G.  BLAINL 

first  was  married  to  Colonel  J.  J.  Coppinger,  of 
the  United  States  Army,  and  died  a  few  years 
afterward.  The  second,  Margaret,  was  married 
in  May,  1890,  to  Mr.  Walter  Damrosch,  of 
New  York,  a  son  of  Dr.  Leopold  Damrosch, 
the  famous  musician,  and  himself  one  of  the  fore 
most  musical  composers  and  directors  of  this 
country. 

It  is  inevitable  that  a  man  in  public  life,  if  he 
possess  strong  convictions  and  act  upon  them, 
will  have  opponents,  and  even  enemies,  as  well  as 
friends.  Mr.  Elaine  was  no  exception  to  this 
rule.  No  man  of  this  generation  has  been  the 
target  for  more,  or  more  bitter  attacks  ;  nor  has 
any  more  triumphantly  repulsed  them.  And  no 
man  has  had  more,  or  more  devoted  and  enthusi 
astic,  friends.  Apart  from  his  brilliant  talents  as 
a  statesman,  inspiring  admiration  and  compel 
ling  devoted  support,  Mr.  Elaine  possessed  a 
happy  faculty  of  winning  and  holding  personal 
friendship.  His  manner  was  unaffected  and  cordial. 
His  memory  of  friends  was  extraordinary.  He 
seemed  never  to  forget  a  face  or  a  name.  In  the 
later  years  of  his  life,  he  often  met  those  whom  he 
knew  twenty  or  thirty  years  before,  but  had  not 
seen  or  heard  of  in  all  that  interval.  But  he 
never  failed  to  recognize  them  and  to  "place" 
them,  and  to  recall  some  associated  incident  of 
the  olden  time.  His  tact  in  dealing  with  men, 
whether  friends  or  strangers,  was  unfailing  and 


THE  MAN.  535 

unerring.  And  in  all  the  relations  of  life  he  ap 
peared  to  possess  in  the  highest  degree  ail  those 
qualities  which  make  a  man  a  leader  of  men,  a 
great  public  servant,  a  loved  and  trusted  friend, 
and  an  entirely  manly  man. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

THE    LAST    CAMPAIGN. 

Mr.  Elaine  Declines  Further  Political  Preferment,  and  Retires  from  the 
Cabinet — The  Minneapolis  Convention,  and  the  Campaign  of  1892 — 
Mr.  Elaine's  Failing  Health — His  Wonderful  Struggle  against  the 
Foe— His  Death.  ' 

As  the  time  for  another  Presidential  Campaign, 
in  1892,  drew  near,  many  Republicans  began  look 
ing  once  more  to  Mr.  Elaine,  as  their  favorite 
candidate.  His  popularity  had  never  been  greater, 
and  the  party  was  as  ready  and  as  eager  to  follow 
him  as  ever  before.  He  decided,  however,  not 
again  t>  enter  the  lists,  and  in  good  time  an 
nounced  his  resolution  in  the  following  unsolicited 

letter : 

WASHINGTON,  Feb.  6,  1892. 
HONORABLE  J.  S.  CLARKSON, 

Chairman  of  the  Republican  National  Committee. 
My  Dear  Sir : — I  am  not  a  candidate  for  the  Presidency  and  my  name 
will  not  go  before  the  Republican  National  Convention  for  the  nomination. 
I  make  this  announcement  in  due  season. 

To  those  who  have  tendered  me  their  support  I  owe  sincere  thanks,  and 
am  most  grateful  for  their  confidence.  They  will,  I  am  sure,  make  earnest 
effort  in  the  approaching  contest,  which  is  rendered  specially  important  by 
reason  of  the  industrial  and  financial  policies  of  the  Government  being  at 
stake.  The  popular  decision  on  these  issues  is  of  great  moment,  and  will 
be  of  far-reaching  consequence. 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

There  were  still  those  who  hoped  that  he  would 
reconsider  his  decision  and  accept  a  nomination. 


THE  LAST  CAMPAIGN.  537 

But  the  great  majority  of  his  friends  and  followers 
regarded  this  letter  as  conclusive,  as  its,  writer 
doubtless  intended  it  to  be,  and  with  unspeakable 
regret  gave  up  their  long-cherished  ambition  of 
placing  Mr.  Elaine  in  the  Presidential  chair. 

Mr.  Harrison  was  known  to  be  a  candidate  for 
renomination,  and  the  general  sentiment  of  the 
party  was  that  he  well  deserved  that  honor.  The 
election  of  delegates  to  the  National  Convention 
strongly  indicated  the  prevalence  of  this  sentiment, 
a  large  majority  of  those  chosen  favoring  the 
renomination  of  the  President. 

On  June  4,  1892,  Mr.  Elaine  tendered  to  the 
President  his  resignation  of  the  office  of  Secretary 
of  State,  which  he  had  filled  with  such  distinction 
and  so  greatly  to  the  benefit  of  his  country.  The 
resignation  was  at  once  accepted,  and  a  day  or 
two  later  Mr.  Elaine  and  his  family  left  Washing 
ton  for  their  home  in  Maine. 

The  National  Republican  Convention  met  at 
Minneapolis  on  June  ;th.  From  the  first  it  was 
evident  that  a  majority  of  the  delegates  would 
vote  for  the  renomination  of  President  Harrison. 
But  a  large  minority  could  not  and  would  not 
abandon  the  project  of  nominating  Mr.  Elaine, 
although  there  was  no  reason  to  suppose  that  he 
desired  or  would  accept  a  nomination.  The  only 
candidates  formally  presented  to  the  Convention 
were  Mr.  Harrison  and  Mr.  Elaine,  the  chief 
speeches  introducing  their  names  being  made 


c;,S  JAMES  C.  ELAINE, 

respectively  by  the  Hon.  Chauncey  M.  Depewand 
Senator  Wolcott,  of  Colorado.  Every  mention  of 
Mr.  Elaine  evoked  the  most  tumultuous  enthu 
siasm,  even  among  those  who  did  not  intend  to 
vote  for  him.  But  the  fact  that  he  still  stood  by 
the  determination  expressed  in  the  letter  of  Febru 
ary  6th,  restrained  the  majority  even  of  his  closest 
friends  from  seeking  to  nominate  him. 

The  first  and  only  ballot  was  taken  on  Friday 
afternoon,  June  loth,  and  President  Harrison  re 
ceived  a  large  majority,  and  was  thus  made  the 
candidate  of  the  party  for  a  second  term.  The 
considerable  minority  vote  was  about  equally 
divided  between  Mr.  Blaine  and  Governor  McKin- 
ley,  of  Ohio.  On  the  first  and  only  ballot  for  a 
candidate  for  the  Vice-Presidency,  the  Hon.  White- 
law  Reid  was  chosen.  He  had  for  many  years 
been  the  editor  of  The  Neiv  York  Tribune,  and 
for  the  last  three  years  Minister  to  France,  and 
had  long  been  a  close  friend  and  earnest  supporter 
of  Mr.  Blaine. 

The  result  of  the  Convention's  work  was  re 
ceived  by  Republicans  throughout  the  country 
with  hearty  satisfaction  and  with  an  earnest  en 
thusiasm  that  presaged  success  at  the  polls.  Mr. 
Blaine  received  the  news  while  he  was  in  Boston, 
on  his  way  to  Maine.  He  expressed  pleasure  at 
the  ending  of  the  contest  and  at  his  own  escape 
from  political  cares  and  labors  into  the  quiet  and 
freedom  of  private  life.  He  added : 


THE  LAST  CAMPAIGN.  539 

"The  resolution,  energy  and  persistence  which 
marked  the  proceedings  of  the  Convention  at 
Minneapolis  will,  if  turned  against  the  common 
foe,  win  the  election  in  November.  All  minor 
differences  should  be  forgotten  in  the  duty  of 
every  Republican  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  elect 
the  ticket  this  day  nominated  by  the  National 
Republican  Convention." 

A  few  hours  later,  he  left  Boston  for  his  home, 
carrying  with  him  the  undying  confidence,  esteem 
and  love  of  his  countrymen  in  such  measure  as 
not  many  men  of  this  or  any  land  have  ever 
enjoyed. 

Mr.  Elaine's  health  had,  for  some  years,  been 
uncertain.  The  prostration,  in  1876  had  left 
ineradicable  traces,  and  the  shock  and  subsequent 
strain  which  he  suffered  in  1880,  in  the  assassina 
tion  of  Garfield,  had  further  impaired  his  consti 
tution.  Family  bereavements  also  told  upon  him 
seriously  during  the  closing  years  of  his  life,  and 
the  work  which  he  did  for  the  nation  as  President 
Harrison's  Secretary  of  State,  sorely  overtaxed 
his  energies.  In  his  retirement  to  the  leisure  of 
private  life  he  hoped  to  secure  a  prolongation  of 
his  waning  lease  of  life  ;  but  in  vain.  One  of  the 
most  insidious  and  deadly  of  maladies,  Bright's 
disease,  had  long  since  fastened  its  hold  upon 
him,  and  no  medical  skill  nor  tender  care  was 
able  to  overcome  it. 


540  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

During  most  of  the  summer  he  remained  at 
his  home  in  Maine,  an  interested  spectator  of 
tiie  great  political  battle  in  which  he  was  physi 
cally  unable  to  take  his  wonted  part.  In  the 
early  autumn  he  travelled  to  New  York,  and  was 
for  a  time  the  guest  of  his  friend,  Mr.  Whitelaw 
Reid.  He  even  took  part  in  several  political 
conferences,  and  made  a  speech  on  the  issues  of 
the  campaign  to  an  audience  assembled  at  Mr. 
Reid's  suburban  home.  But,  great  as  was  his 
desire  to  do  so,  he  was  unable  to  take  any  more 
active  part  in  the  campaign,  and  he  presently 
retired  to  his  home  in  Washington  to  fight  out  his 
own  grim  battle. 

His  Washington  house  was  an  historic  one  ; 
and  one  of  tragic  history.  It  had  been  the  home 
of  William  H.  Seward,  and  was  the  scene  of  the 
murderous  attack  upon  that  statesman  and  his 
son  by  a  member  of  the  band  of  assassins  who 
compassed  the  death  of  Abraham  Lincoln.  Nor 
had  Mr.  Elaine's  occupancy  of  it  been  free  from 
woe.  While  living  there  he  lost,  first,  his  favorite 
son,  Walker;  then  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Coppinger  ; 
and  then  his  son,  Emmons.  Thus  the  popular 
superstition,  that  ill-luck  haunted  the  house, 
seemed  justified. 

It  was  on  December  17,  1892,  that  Mr.  Elaine 
\vas  first  formally  declared  by  his  attendants  to  be 
near  death.  On  that  day  he  had  an  alarming 


WALKER    ELAINE. 


THE  LAST  CA MPA IGN.  5 . lj 

sinking,  and  a  bulletin  was   issued  by  his   doctor 
in  these  words  ; 

"Mr.  Elaine  has  been  suffering  for  some  time 
past  with  symptoms  of  impaired  general  health, 
but  which  did  not  clearly  indicate  the  disease  01 
any  particular  organ.  Evidence  of  local  organic 
disease  has  been  manifested  recently,  and  it  is 
believed  his  present  condition  is  due  to  this  cause. 
While  there  is  nothing  in  the  disease  to  warrant 
the  fear  of  any  very  rapid  progress,  he  has  shown 
within  a  month  past  more  signs  of  serious  illness 
than  before.  It  is  hoped  that  this  aggravation 
may  pass  off,  but  no  positive  statement  can  now 
be  made  as  to  changes  which  may  take  place  from 
day  to  day." 

All  the  next  day  his  death  was  momentarily 
expected.  But  his  marvellous  vitality  enabled  him 
to  rally,  and  a  few  days  later  he  was  able  to  sit  up 
in  his  bed,  and  his  family  and  physicians  began 
seriously  to  consider  the  feasibility  of  removing 
him  to  the  milder  climate  of  the  South,  or  of 
the  Pacific  Coast. 

Meantime,  popular  manifestations  of  interest  in 
the  condition  of  the  distinguished  sufferer  were 
very  great.  Night  and  day,  newspaper  corres 
pondents  lingered  near  the  sick-room,  sending  out 
frequent  bulletins,  which  were  read  with  deep 
solicitude  all  over  the  land. 

Early  in  January,  1893,  he  again  showed  symp 
toms  of  fatal  sinking,  and  on  the  8th  of  that  montli 


544  JAMES  G.  BLATNE. 

his  condition  was  described  as  follows  by  one  of 
his  closest  friends:  "Mr.  Elaine  has  not  had  a 
connected  thought  for  thirty  days  past.  The  heart, 
while  nourishing  other  organs,  has  not  been  strong 
enough  to  furnish  the  necessary  blood  for  the 
brain.  Hence  it  is  that,  like  the  ancient  pine,  Mr. 
Elaine  has  been  slowly  perishing  at  the  top,  Mr. 
Elaine  dies  like  a  philosopher  at  last,  distasteful 
as  the  subject  of  death  has  been  to  him  in  other 
and  stronger  days.  A  few  weeks  since  he  called 
his  family  about  him  and  calmly  told  them  that 
he  did  not  expect  to  recover.  He  was  in  full 
possession  of  his  mental  faculties,  and  went  over 
his  affairs  in  detail,  and  said  to  each  of  his  children 
all  that  he  had  to  say.  In  the  intervening  period 
the  members  of  the  family  have  gradually  become 
reconciled  to  the  end,  which  is  impending.  When 
the  history  is  written  of  Mr.  Elaine's  illness,  the 
touching  devotion  of  the  wife  and  mother  will  be 
one  of  its  interesting  chapters.  No  one  except 
the  intimates  of  the  family  are  able  to  appreciate 
her  fidelity  and  watchfulness  and  courage.  Mrs. 
Elaine  has  remained  at  the  bedside  of  her  husband 
almost  unintermittingly,  watching  every  indica 
tion  of  change,  and  aiding  promptly  in  every  case 
of  emergency.  Through  all  the  stages  of  despond 
ency  and  grief  which  Mr.  Elaine  has  passed  of 
late  she  has  been  at  his  side  to  cheer  and  soothe 
and  strengthen  him." 


THE  LAST  CA MPA IGN.  5  45 

Steadily  the  strength  of  the  illustrious  sufferer 
ebbed  away  Day  after  day  he  lay,  helpless  and 
unconscious.  Finally,  on  January  27,  at  eleven 
o'clock  in  the  morning,  the  end  came.  There  had 
been  no  marked  change  in  his  condition  during 
the  night,  although  he  had  been  rather  restless, 
and  then  there  was  an  ominous  increase  of  lan 
guor.  After  breakfast,  between  8  and  9  o'clock, 
the  experienced  eye  of  the  nurse  saw  that  death 
was  at  hand.  The  members  of  the  family  and 
the  two  physicians  who  had  been  in  attendance, 
were  quickly  summoned.  Nitro-glycerine,  the 
most  powerful  heart-stimulant,  was  administered. 
On  former  occasions  it  had  rallied  his  failing 
powers ;  but  now  it  had  no  effect.  Dr.  Hyatt 
and  Dr.  Johnston  could  do  nothing  more,  but 
stand  by  and  watch  for  the  end.  Around  the  bed 
were  grouped  also  Mrs.  Elaine,  her  three  surviv 
ing  children,  Miss  Harriet  Elaine,  Mrs.  Walter 
Damrosch,  and  James  G.  Elaine,  Jr.,  and  Miss 
Mary  A.  Dodge  ("  Gail  Hamilton,")  Mr.  Elaine's 
cousin.  The  patient  was  entirely  conscious,  and 
recognized  them  all.  He  was  also  quite  free  from 
pain.  And  he  passed  away  so  gently  that  the 
watchers  were  unaware  of  the  exact  moment  of 
his  death. 

As  soon  as  the  news  of  Mr.  Elaine's  death  was 
announced,  a  host  of  callers  began  to  enter  the 
house  to  offer  expressions  of  sympathy  and  regret. 


546  JAMES  G.  B  I.  A  INK. 

The  President  hastened  from  the  White  House, 
and  was  quickly  followed  by  members  of  the 
Cabinet,  Senators,  Representatives,  members  of 
the  Diplomatic  Corps,  and  numbers  of  others,  of 
prominent  rank  in  social  and  official  life.  Both 
Houses  of  Congress  adjourned,  an  extraordinary 
mark  of  respect  to  one  holding  no  official  station. 
Equally  marked  and  exceptional  was  the  action 
of  the  President  in  issuing  a  public  proclamation 
announcing  the  death  of  his  ex-Secretary,  and 
ordering  the  Executive  Departments  of  the 
Government  to  be  closed  on  the  day  of  his 
funeral.  The  proclamation  read  as  follows  : 

f  EXECUTIVE  MANSION, 

\  WASHINGTON,  January  27,  1893. 

"It  is  my  painful  duty  to  announce  to  the  people 
of  the  United  States  the  death  of  James  Gillespie 
Blaine,  which  occurred  in  this  city  to-day  at  1 1 
o'clock. 

"For  a  full  generation  this  eminent  citizen  has 
occupied  a  conspicuous  and  influential  position  in 
the  Nation.  His  first  public  service  was  in  the 
Legislature  of  his  State.  Afterward,  for  fourteen 
years,  he  was  a  member  of  the  National  House  of 
Representatives,  and  was  three  times  chosen  its 
Speaker.  In  1876,  he  was  elected  to  the  Senate. 
He  resigned  his  seat  in  that  body,  in  iSSi,  to 
accept  the  position  of  Secretary  of  State  in  the 
Cabinet  of  President  Garfield.  After  the  tragic 
death  of  his  chief  he  resigned  from  the  Cabinet, 


TJIE  LAST  CAMPAIGN.  547 

and,  devoting  himself  to  literary  work,  gave  to  the 
public  in  his  'Twenty  Years  in  Congress'  a 
most  valuable  and  enduring  contribution  to  our 

o 

political  literature.  In  March,  1889,  he  again 
became  Secretary  of  State,  and  continued  to 
exercise  this  office  until  June,  1892. 

"  His  devotion  to  the  public  interests,  his  marked 
ability  and  his  exalted  patriotism  have  won  for 
him  the  gratitude  and  affection  of  his  countrymen 
and  the  admiration  of  the  world.  In  the  varied 
pursuits  of  legislation,  diplomacy  and  literature, 
his  genius  has  added  new  lustre  to  American 
citizenship. 

"Asa  suitable  expression  of  the  National  sorrow 
caused  by  his  death,  I  direct  that  on  the  day  of 
his  funeral  all  the  Departments  of  the  Executive 
branch  of  the  Government  at  Washington  be 
closed,  and  that  on  all  public  buildings  throughout 
the  United  States  the  National  flag  shall  be  dis 
played  at  half-staff;  and  that  for  a  period  of  thirty 
days  the  Department  of  State  be  draped  in 
mourning.  BENJAMIN  HARRISON. 

11  By  the  President : 

JOHN  W.  FOSTER,  Secretary  of  State" 

Similar  tributes  of  respect  were  paid  all  over 
the  country.  State  Legislatures  adopted  suitable 
resolutions  and  adjourned.  In  Mr.  Elaine's  own 
State  of  Maine  the  public  and  private  grief  was 
most  profound.  The  news  was  announced  to  the 


54$  JAMES  C.  ELAINE. 

State  Senate  by  the  Governor  in   the  following'' 

j  t> 

special  message  : 

(  STATE  OF  MAINE,  EXECUTIVE  DEPARTMENT, 
\  AUGUSTA,  ME.,  January  27,  1893. 

11  To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  : 

"For  weeks  the  eyes  of  the  American  people 
have  been  turned  toward  the  capital  of  the 
nation.  This  morning-,  at  1 1  o'clock,  James  G. 
Blaine,  the  matchless  debater,  the  brilliant  orator, 
the  matchless  statesman,  died  in  the  city  of  Wash 
ington.  In  these  halls  he  began  his  distinguished 
public  career.  We  recall  with  pride  his  patriotic 
utterance,  in  early  life,  to  the  people  of  Maine  : 
'  Perish  all  things  else,  the  national  life  must 
be  saved/  He  loved  his  State  and  believed 
in  her  people.  Political  affiliations  have  never 
estranged  the  deep  affection  entertained  for  him 
by  his  countrymen.  Men  of  all  parties  mourn 
his  death,  but  this  great  loss  is  most  keenly  felt 
by  our  people,  for  they  claimed  him  as  their  own. 
I  have  directed  that  the  national  flag  be  dis 
played  at  half-mast  upon  the  public  buildings  of 
the  State,  and,  during  the  funeral  services,  all  the 
departments  of  the  executive  branch  of  the  State 
Government  wrill  be  closed.  I  trust  the  Legis 
lature  will  take  appropriate  action  in  honor  of  the 
memory  of  the  deceased. 

HENRY  B.  CLEAVES,  Governor." 
A  similar  proclamation  was  issued  to  the  people 
of  the  State.     The  Mayor  of  Augusta  also  pub- 


THE  LAST  CAMPAIGN.  549 

lished  a  message  to  the  people  of  that  city,  and 
the*  City  Government,  at  a  special  meeting, 
adopted  these  resolutions  : 

f  CITY  OF  AUGUSTA,  BOARD  OF  ALDERMEN, 

(January  27,  1893, 

"The  citizens  of  Augusta  have  learned  with  pro 
found  regret  of  the  decease  of  their  distinguished 
fellow-citizen,  Hon.  James  G.  Elaine.  To  the 
world  at  large  his  death  has  come  as  a  public  loss, 
because,  as  one  of  America's  foremost  men  for 
many  years  he  has  attracted  and  held  the  public 
eye.  To  us,  however,  his  death  comes  with  a 
tenderer  significance.  This  was  his  home.  Here 

o 

he  came  in  his  young  manhood  to  engage  in  busi 
ness  enterprise.  Here  his  children  were  born 
and  reared.  Here  began  his  marvellous  political 
career,  when  as  a  member  of  the  Maine  Legisla 
ture  he  represented  this  city  in  the  House  of 
Representatives.  That  career  did  not  cease  till 
he  had  become  the  acknowledged  leader  of  his 
own  political  party,  and  was  granted  the  merit 
of  statesmanship  even  by  his  political  opponents. 
Amid  all  his  triumphs,  however,  he  remained  true 
to  the  home  of  his  adoption,  and  its  citizens  have 
remained  true  to  him.  Others  may  remember 
him  for  his  brilliant  attainments,  his  forceful 
character,  his  irresistible  personality ;  but  the 
citizens  of  Augusta  will  ever  cherish  his  memory 
because,  through  all  his  varied  fortunes  he  was 
still  one  of  our  people,  keenly  interested  in  our 


550  JAMES  G.  BLAL\!\ 

welfare,  generous  to  every  worthy  cause,  a  genial 
neighbor,  a  warm-hearted  and  devoted  friend, 
therefore, 

"Resolved,  That  the  City  Council  cause  this  sim 
ple  tribute  to  the  memory  of  Augusta's  most  dis 
tinguished  citizen  to  be  entered  upon  its  records, 
and  a  copy  sent  to  the  sorrowing  family  as  an 
expression  of  the  tender  sympathy  of  their  old- 
time  friends  and  neighbors. 

o 

"Resolved,  further,  That  as  a  final  mark  of 
respect  to  one  whom  we  delighted  to  honor  in  his 
life,  we  suggest  that  all  places  of  business  be 
closed  and  all  business  in  the  city  be  suspended 
during  the  funeral  hours,  and  that  our  citizens 
arrange  for  an  appropriate  memorial  service  to  be 
held  on  the  day  of  the  funeral." 

The  official  statement  of  the  attending  physi 
cians,  regarding  tke  cause  of  Mr.  Elaine's  death, 
was  promptly  made  public,  as  follows  : 

The  beginning  of  Mr.  Elaine's  illness  dates  back  some  years.  The 
earliest  signs  of  ill-health  were  associated  with  and  no  doubt  due  to  a 
gouty  tendency,  which  manifested  itself  in  subacute  attacks  of  gout, 
disturbances  of  digestion  and  progressive  innutrition  and  anaemia. 

Subsequent  events  prove  that  at  this  time  changes  were  going  on  in 
the  arteries  of  the  body,  which  resulted  later  in  symptoms  of  oblitera 
tion  of  vessels,  and  in  chronic  disease  of  the  kidneys.  The  attack  of 
paralysis,  in  1887,  was  connected  with  similar  alterations  in  the  blood 
vessels  of  the  brain. 

During  the  summer  of  1892  the  evidences  of  failing  health  were  more 
decided,  and  in  November,  after  his  return  to  Washington,  his  symp 
toms  suddenly  assumed  an  aggravated  form.  From  this  time,  although 
there  were  periods  of  apparent  improvement,  he  continued  to  grow 
worse  from  week  to  week.  The  symptoms  were,  at  first,  more  directly 
connected  with  the  kidneys,  and  examinations  of  the  urine  showed  that 


THE  LAST  CAMPAIGN,  551 

there  was  a  progressive  interstitial  change  goi-ng  on  in  that  organ,  and 
that  he  had  a  form  of  chronic  Bright's  disease. 

In  December  signs  of  lung  comolication  appeared,  which  were,  no 
doubt,  connected  with  the  general  disease  ;  but  as  tubercle  bacilli  were 
found  in  the  sputa,  it  is  probable  that  there  was  some  tubercular  infec 
tion  as  well.  Much  of  the  distress  whiah  Mr.  Elaine  suffered  was 
associated  with  this  disease  of  the  lungs,  and  his  death  was  certainly 
hastened  by  it. 

Toward  the  end  of  December  the  heart  began  to  show  signs  of  un 
usual  weakness  from  cardiac  degeneratien  and  dilatation,  and  on 
December  i8th  he  had  an  alarming  attack  of  heart  exhaustion ;  from 
this  he  rallied,  but  others  of  the  same  nature  occurred  on  several  occa 
sions.  From  the  middle  of  January  these  attacks  ceased,  and  the  action 
of  the  heart  was  more  uniformly  good.  There  was,  however,  a  daily 
loss  of  flesh  and  strength. 

For  three  days  before  Mr.  Elaine's  death  there  was'no  marked  change 
in  his  condition ;  each  day  he  seemed  somewhat  more  feeble  tkati  on 
the  day  before,  and  on  the  night  before  his  death  he  did  not  seem  to  be 
in  any  immediate  danger.  Toward  the  morning  of  the  27th  inst.,  his 
pulse  was  observed  to  be  very  feeble  and  his  breathing  more  embarras 
sed.  As  a  result  of  the  failing  heart  action,  oedema  of  the  lungs 
occurred,  and  he  died  without  much  suffering,  at  n  o'clock. 

During  the  whole  of  Mr.  Elaine's  illness  the  digestion  was  well  per 
formed  and  liquid  food  (chiefly  milk)  was  taken  in  full  quantities.  Hir, 
mind  was  generally  clear,  except  when  clouded  by  uraemia  and  dis 
turbed  brain  circulation,  and  although  unable  to  express  himself  in 
words,  he  recognized  all  the  members  of  his  family  up  to  within  a  few 
moments  of  his  death. 

Drs.  Janeway  and  Loomis,  of  New  York,  were  called  in  consultation 
and  rendered  important  service  by  their  advice. 

WILLIAM  W.  JOHNSTON,  M,  D. 
FRANK  HYATT,  M.  D. 


CHAPTER  XX. 


FINAL    TRIBUTES. 

An  Outburst  of   National  Grief— Words  of  Tribute  from   Chauncey  M. 

•    Depew,  Senator  Hoar,  Ex-Secretaries  Fish  and  Evarts,  Henry  Wat- 

terson,    and    others  —  Dr.    MacArthur's    Version  of    the   Burchard 

Incident — The  Funeral  Services  at  the  House — At  the  Church  of  the 

Covenant — At  the  Grave  in  Oak  Hill  Cemetery — The  End. 

Seldom  in  the  history  of  any  nation  has  the 
death  of  one  man  called  forth  so  many  and  so 
sincere  expressions  of  grief  and  tributes  of  affec 
tionate  esteem  as  did  the  death  of  James  G. 
Blaine.  The  whole  American  people  mourned 
their  loss.  Closed  public  offices,  flags  at  half- 
mast,  and  other  outward  emblems  of  bereavement, 
were  visible  everywhere.  And  there  were  every 
where  audibte  the  words  of  those  who  had  known 
and  loved  him,  or  who,  not  personally  knowing 
him,  had  yet  loved  and  admired  and  followed  him. 
His  long  and  active  public  life  had  brought  him 
into  immediate  contact  with  many  individuals. 
And  as  he  had  himself  a  marvellous  faculty  of 
remembering  everyone  he  ever  met,  so,  too,  his 
magnetic  personality  so  impressed  those  whom  he 
met  that  they  ever  after  well  remembered  him. 
552 


FINAL   TRIBUTES.  553 

The  Hon.  ChaunceyM.  Depew,  for  many  years 
one  of  Mr  Elaine's  most  intimate  friends,  said  of 
him  : 

"Mr.  Elaine  enjoys  the  unique  distinction  of 
having  been  better  understood  by  the  plain  people 
of  the  United  States  and  more  thoroughly  mis 
understood  by  the  highly  educated  and  hypercrit 
ical  citizens  than  any  other  one  of  our  statesmen. 

The  secret  of  his  success  was  his  lucidity  and 
candor.  That  lucidity  and  candor,  combined  with 
inimitable  quickness  of  application,  earnestness 
and  action  created  the  impression  in  the  Mug 
wump  intellect  that  he  was  a  trickster — a  danger 
ous  factor  in  politics,  a  man  to  be  watched  and 
feared. 

"No  statesman  of  our  country,  save  Henry 
Clay,  has  ever  had  such  a  hold  on  the  popular 
minds,  and  no  one  has  been  in  such  close 
touch  with  the  people.  At  any  time  within  the 
last  twenty  years  he  would  have  been  triumphantly 
elected  President,  except  for  untoward  accidents 
and  extraordinary  misrepresentations,  which 
everybody  regretted  after  the  election  was  over. 
It  was  exceedingly  touching  to  sit  in  a  bar-  room 
of  a  country  hotel,  where  the  whole  countryside 
gathered,  or  to  meet  after  the  county  committee's 
meeting,  at  a  reception  given  by  some  citizen,  the 
representatives  of  ail  the  town,  and  hear  them  talk 
about  'Jim  Elaine'  with  a  personal  affection  and 
an  apparent  intimate  acquaintance,  as  if  he  had 


554  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

been  a  member  of  their  own  household.  Probably 
none  of  them  had  ever  met  him,  and  yet  he  was 
an  essential  part  of  their  personal,  political  and 
social  lives.  Mr.  Elaine  possessed  the  rare 
faculty,  which  is  in  itself  a  gift  of  popularity,  of 
never  foro'ettino1  a  face  or  a  name.  It  is  said  that 

o  o 

Henry  Clay  possessed  it.  I  have  seen  extraor 
dinary  illustrations  of  it  by  Thurlow  Weed  and  by 
the  Prince  of  Wales,  but  beyond  Mr.  Elaine,  Mr. 
Weed  and  the  Prince  of  Wales,  I  have  never 
known  any  man  in  public  or  private  life  who  had  it. 

"  Mr.  Elaine  would  be  introduced  at  some  mass 
meeting  or  a  reception  in  Washington  or  at  the 
railway  station  to  a  farmer  or  a  mechanic  or  a 
lawyer  and  to  hundreds  of  them.  Subsequently 
one  of  these  men  would  be  in  his  presence  at  some 
place  distant  from  the  town  where  the  introduction 
occurred.  Mr.  Elaine  would  grasp  him  by  the 
hand,  call  him  by  name,  recall  the  circumstances 
of  the  introduction,  and  with  a  cordial  grasp  and 
a  peculiar  look  state  some  incident  of  their  brief 
conversation  ;  and  that  man  was  ready  for  the  rest 
of  his  life  to  be  burned  at  the  stake  for  James  G. 
Elaine. 

"I  have  studied  Mr.  Elaine's  oratory  in  the 
scores  of  times  or  so  that  I  have  been  upon  the 
same  platform  with  him.  He  was  not  eloquent  in 
our  American  understanding  of  that  word  ;  but 
he  had  a  certain  clearness  of  statement,  directness 
of  argument,  plain  and  understandable  way  of 


FINAL   TRIBUTES.  555 

putting  things  which  carried  his  audience.  His 
great  forte  was  to  make  a  short  speech  and  to 
make  one  subject  the  prominent  feature  of  the 
speech  which  he  was  making.  He  invariably  cap 
tured  his  audience  at  the  time,  and  none  of  them 
ever  forgot  him. 

"  He  will  stand  in  our  history  as  the  ablest  par 
liamentarian  and  most  skilful  debater  of  our  Con 
gressional  history.  His  marvellous  memory,  his 
inimitable  tact,  his  almost  miraculous  perception 
of  the  weak  point  of  the  adversary,  the  sudden 
ness  of  his  attack,  and  his  ability  to  cover  his 
retreat  made  him  invincible  upon  the  floor  as  the 
leader  of  his  party.  He  had  an  unusual  combina 
tion  of  boundless  audacity  with  infinite  tact.  No 
man  during  his  active  career  has  disputed  with 
him  his  hold  upon  the  popular  imagination  and 
his  leadership  of  his  party.  He  has  left  no  suc 
cessor  who  possesses  in  any  degree  such  as  he 
possessed  it  the  affection  and  the  confidence  of  his 
followers." 

Senator  George  F.  Hoar,  of  Massachusetts,  had 
been  associated  with  Mr.  Elaine  for  many  years 
in  Congress,  and  had  known  and  studied  all  con 
spicuous  Americans  of  his  generation.  In  speak 
ing  of  the  departed  statesman  he  said  : 

"  To  draw  an  adequate  portrait  of  Mr.  Elaine 
would  require  almost  his  own  genius.  He  was, 
since  the  death  of  our  great  military  chieftains, 
the  most  conspicuous  and  striking  personal 


556  JAMES   G.  ELAINE. 

presence  in  American  public  life.  Even  when 
Grant,  Sherman  and  Sheridan  were  at  the  height 
of  their  fame,  Mr.  Elaine  shared  with  them  the 
affection  of  his  countrymen,  and  his  coming  would 
have  created  anywhere  in  the  country  as  great 
popular  enthusiasm  as  that  of  either  of  the  three 
great  chieftains.  The  feeling  for  him  was  that 
which  is  felt  for  a  bright  and  attractive  boy.  He 
had  always,  amid  the  most  serious  and  grave 
responsibilities,  that  gift  of  youth  which  was  the 
charm  of  Charles  James  Fox,  and  which  made  him 
the  best  beloved  of  the  great  English  statesmen. 
Mr.  Blaine  had  a  marvellous  literary  instinct. 
His  style  was  free  from  exaggeration  and  excess 
and  the  little  pomposities  of  phrase  which  are  the 
vice  of  our  American  speech.  His  eulogy  on 
Garfielcl  has  always  seemed  to  me  one  of  the  most 
exquisite  productions  of  the  class  to  which  it 
belongs.  Mr.  Blaine  had  great  skill  in  seeing 
what  position  on  difficult  and  exciting  public  ques 
tions  was  likely  to  receive  the  support  of  his 
party,  and  to  be  popular  in  the  country.  I  think 
his  leadership,  if  his  health  had  been  continued, 
would  have  prolonged  the  lease  of  power  of  the 
Republican  party.  Mr.  Blaine  was  a  learned  man 
in  American  politics.  He  had  this  knowledge 
always  at  his  command.  It  lent  a  great  charm  to 
his  familiar  conversation  at  his  own  table,  where 
he  was  the  most  charming  of  hosts,  and  in  society, 
where  he  was  the  most  sought  for  of  guests.  I 


FINAL   TRIBUTES.  557 

» 

ihink  it  a  great  pity  that  he  was   never  elected 

:        !.       I    think    his    pilotage    would    have 

\  e-,sel  of  the  Republic  safely.     His 

.1  of  the  Department  of  State  was 

cO  show  how  mistaken  were  those  who 

ted    a  quarrelsome,  sensational,  fickle  and 

eUit    administration    of   foreign    affairs    of    the 

country." 

Two  of  Mr.  Elaine's  predecessors  to  the  office 
of  Secretary  of  State  were  Hamilton  Fish  and 
William  M.  Evarts.  Mr.  Fish  was  Secretary  of 
State  in  President  Grant's  Cabinet,  while  Mr. 
Elaine  was  speaker  of  the  house  of  Representa 
tives.  On  hearing  of  Mr.  Elaine's  death,  he  said  : 

4<A  great  man  has  gone.  He  was  the  greatest 
American  of  his  time,  and  his  death  probably  ends 
the  most  active  life  in  our  history.  For  twenty- 
five  or  thirty  years  he  has  been  a  powerful  figure 
in  the  country,  and  his  fight  against  death  has 
been  a  brave  one.  He  filled  a  large  space  in  pol 
itics  and  in  the  administration  of  the  Government, 
but  the  end,  coming  at  this  time,  I  do  not  believe 
wall  effect  a  change  in  the  administration  or  any 
thing  else.  That  has  been  discounted  by  his  long 
illness.  I  did  not  meet  Mr.  Elaine  of  recent  years. 
When  I  knew  him,  he  was  vigorous  of  body  as  well 
as  in  mind,  and  he  was  one  of  those  aggressive, 
ambitious,  energetic  statesmen  whose  qualities 
drew  some  men  toward  them,  and  at  the  same  time 
made  enemies  for  them.  When  I  was  in  the  State 


558  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

Department  1  saw  much  of  him.  He  was  speaker 
of  the  House  at  that  time,  and  he  lived  with  his 
fanily  in  a  house  directly  across  the  street  from 
where  I  lived.  My  personal  relations  with  him 
were  always  pleasant.  As  speaker  of  the  House 
he  was  wonderfully  able  and  efficient,  and  he  was 
always  a  fearless  man.  He  had  more  hold  on  the 
popular  feeling  than  any  other  man  since  Henry 
Clay's  time,  but  like  him  he  failed  in  the  one  great 
ambition  of  his  life.  He  was  like  Seward,  Doug 
las  and  Clay.  The  same  qualities  that  attracted 
some  toward  him  made  enemies.  Seward,  Doug 
las  and  Clay  were  all  leaders,  though,  and  so  was 
Elaine.  His  wise  counsels  have  been  missed  by 
his  party,  but  at  the  present  time  his  death  will 
have  no  political  effect." 

"His  death  will  be  universally  regretted,  and  the 
unkind  things  that  have  been  said  about  him  will 
be,  I  think,  not  repeated.  He  was  an  affectionate 
man  in  his  own  family,  and  during  the  eight  years 
he  lived  near  me  I  had  an  opportunity  to  see  what 
an  interest  he  took  in  his  family,  and  what  love 
and  admiration  he  had  for  his  children.  But  his 
death  will  not  only  be  mourned  by  his  widow  and 
children.  For  months  the  whole  country  has  been 
watching  at  his  bedside  and  the  whole  country 
will  mourn  its  loss.  I  cannot  say  too  much  of 
Mr.  Elaine's  ability.  Had  he  not  been  so  great 
and  brilliant  he  might  have  been  President.  He 
was  a  great  man  when  he  first  entered  upon  a 


F1XAL   TRIBUTES.  559 

political  career.  He  became  greater  as  years 
rolled  by.  He  has  been  accused  of  sensational 
things,  but  when  Secretary  of  State  under  Harrison 
he  did  nothing  of  a  rash  or  sensational  sort.  Blaine 
was  a  man  with  a  most  remarkable  memory,  and 
in  debate  he  could  quote  figures  for  hours  without 
referring  to  notes.  He  was  certainly  the  greatest 
American  of  his  time,  and  during  the  latter  years 
of  his  life  the  people  had  every  confidence  in  him, 
and  they  felt  assured  that  if  he  ever  had  reached 
the  Presidential  chair  his  administration  would 
have  been  conservative  and  prosperous.  The 
nation  has  lost  its  greatest  citizen  ;  his  unique 
place  in  history  will  never  be  filled." 

Mr.  Evarts  was  Secretary  of  State  in  President 
Hayes'  Cabinet  when  Mr.  Blaine  was  in  the 
Senate.  He  said  : 

''It  is  the  close  of  a  very  eventful  political 
career.  Mr.  Blaine  was  one  of  the  most  brilliant 
public  men  in  the  history  of  the  country.  Besides 
his  brilliant  public  career  he  attracted  about  him 
more  personal  admiration  and  applause  than  any 
man  of  his  time.  His  hold  in  a  place  of  history 
and  in  the  affections  of  the  people  of  the  United 
States  will  live  long  after  his  death.  My  acquaint 
ance  with  Mr.  Blaine  was  intimate  and  agreeable 
for  many  years,  and  I  followed  with  interest  the 
career  of  the  most  conspicuous  personality  in 
recent  public  life.  Mr.  Blaine  was  an  able  pre 
siding  officer  in  the  House,  and  in  the  Senate  he 


560  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

ably  demonstrated  his  capacity  and  ability  readily 
to  grasp  great  questions  of  the  day.  At  one  time 
there  was  no  orator  In  America  who  was  more 
than  his  equal,  and  in  debate  he  was  an  antagonist 
worthy  to  meet.  His  memory  was  something 
marvellous,  and  facts  and  figures,  when  necessary, 
were  always  at  his  tongue's  end.  He  had  one 
great  ambition.  He  had  the  right  to  it.  There 
are  others  who  aspired  to  the  Presidency,  and 
were  as  capable  as  Mr.  Blaine  of  administering 
the  affairs  of  the  highest  office  in  the  land,  but, 
like  Henry  Clay,  it  was  destined  that  he  should 
never  reach  the  White  House.  But  his  fame 
could  not  have  been  greater  had  he  reached  the 
height  of  his  ambition.  His  place  in  history  will 
always  remain.  More  ample  testimony  as  to  his 
brilliant  and  varied  career,  accomplishments  and 
services  may  well  await  a  later  day.'* 

Nor  were  tributes  of  praise  by  any  means  con 
fined  to  Mr.  Elaine's  party  friends.  His  political 
opponents,  even  those  of  the  South,  who  had  for 
years  been  warring  with  him  incessantly,  gener 
ously  offered  their  meed  of  respect.  One  V)f  the 
most  distinguished  and  eloquent  of  them,  the  Hon. 
Henry  Watterson,  said  : 

''Among  the  modern  leaders  of  American  party 
politics  James  G.  Blaine  stood  easily  first.  In  the 
power  of  drawing  to  himself  the  admiration  of 
great  masses  of  the  people,  and  of  arousing  the 
enthusiasm  of  his  followers,  he  had  no  equal  in 


FINAL   TRIBUTES.  561 

either  political  camp.  A  certain  lack  of  prestige 
which  marked  his  brief  service  in  the  Senate  may 
be  traced  directly  to  the  circumstance  that  he 
was  not  a  trained  lawyer.  No  man  has  ever  made 
a  career  in  the  Senate — that  graveyard  of  Presi 
dential  hopes  and  coffin  of  slain  ambitions — who 
was  not.  But  as  a  commoner  upon  the  floor  of 
the  National  House  of  Representatives,  Mr.  Elaine 
was  a  Titan.  He  was  a  Titan  before  the  people. 
He  was  a  Titan  among  his  political  associates  in 
the  closet  and  at  the  round  table  where  party 
plans  are  laid  and  party  plans  decided.  Mr. 
Elaine's  lot  was  cast  in  high  party  lines.  In 
political  controversy  he  neither  asked  nor  gave 
quarter.  But  in  his  private  intercourse  he  was 
altogether  free  from  political  prejudices,  unreserved 
and  generous  to  his  adversaries,  genial  to  all, 
and  altogether  delightful  as  a  companion.  He 
was  not  so  august  as  Clay  nor  so  unguarded  as 
Douglas  ;  but  he  will  rank  with  those  for  a  party 
leader,  and  be  classed  with  them  and  compared 
to  them  by  the  biographers,  for,  as  political  chief 
tains  and  popular  debaters,  the  trio  possessed 
much  in  common.  Peace  to  the  ashes  of  a  noble 
adversary.  All  honor  to  the  name  of  a  great 
American.  At  last  the  Plumed  Knight  has  joined 
the  knightly  throng  whom  the  ages  have  assem 
bled  on  the  other  side." 

Captain  Hugh  R.  Garden,  for  many  years  presi 
dent  of  the  Southern  Society  of  New  York,  said ; 


562  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

"  I  regarded  Mr.  Elaine  as  the  foremost  American 
since  Charles  Sumner.  He  possessed  a  wonderful 
personality,  which  he  impressed  on  all  who  came 
in  contact  with  him,  no  matter  what  their  prejudices 
were.  Men  who  knew  him  only  by  reputation 
admired  him  for  his  great  talents,  but  when  they 
came,  to  know  him  personally  their  admiration  and 
respect  were  increased,  many  fold.  He  was  a 
friend  of  the  South.  Though  on  many  points  I 
could  not  agree  with  him,  yet  my  admiration  for 
him  was  so  great  that  he  was  the  one  Republican 
I  could  have  voted  for  for  President.  .The  news 
of  his  death  shocked  me,  though  we  knew  the  end 
was  inevitable.  Mr.  Elaine  never  wrestled  with 
the  social  problem  in  the  South — the  one  influence 
that  has  kept  the  South  solid.  He  could  not  do 
so  for  party  reasons.  That  he  admitted  himself. 
I  think  the  obligations  of  party  prevented  him 
from  doing  many  things  that  would  have  benefited 
the  South.  He  was  closely  identified  with  the 
South  in  many  ways.  In  Virginia,  West  Virginia, 
Kentucky  and  Alabama  he  had  large  interests. 
We  Southerners  liked  Elaine  for  his  sterling 

o 

Americanism.  That  was  the  quality  that  touched 
our  pride.  We  felt  that  he  was  American  through 
and  through." 

At  this  time,  also,  the  following  account  was 
given  of  the  famous  "  Burchard  Incident"  in  1884, 
which  has  previously  been  described  in  this  volume. 
The  account  was  given  on  the  Sunday  following 


> 


FINAL   TRIBUTES.  565 

Mr.  Elaine's  death,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Robert  S. 
MacArthur,  of  New  York,  in  the  course  of  a 
sermon  on  "The  Dead  of  a  Week,"  in  which 
reference  \vas  made  to  the  deaths  of  Rutherford 
B.  Hayes,  Abner  Doubleday,  Phillips  Brooks, 
L,  Q.  C.  Lamar,  and  James  G.  Blaine. 

"  Since  its  occurrence,"  said  Dr.  MacArthur, 
"  the  true  story  of  the  Burchard  incident  may  be 
told  for  the  first  time.  I  may  be  permitted  to  say 
that  all  the  facts  connected  with  it  are  known  to 
me,  and  that  in  my  judgment  the  time  has  now 
come  when  they  should  be  fully  stated.  It  was 
supposed  by  many  that  Dr.  Burchard  deliberately 
uttered  the  fatal  alliterative  words  in  order  to 
secure  Mr.  Elaine's  defeat.  Many  politicians  were 
so  firmly  convinced  that  such  was  the  case  that  at 
one  time  they  determined  to  investigate  the  case 
by  every  personal  and  legal  process  which  they 
could  employ.  Many  affirmed  further  that  some 
members  of  Dr.  Burchard's  family  voted  for  Mr. 
Elaine's  opponent  in  that  election.  They  affirmed 
further  that  certain  of  Dr.  Burchard's  financial 
obligations  were  mysteriously  paid  soon  after  the 
occurrence  of  the  now  historic  incident,  and  they 
therefore  reached  the  conclusion  that  his  famous 
words  were  spoken  as  the  result  of  a  deliberate 
plan  to  defeat  Mr.  Blaine.  I  used  my  influence 
at  the  time  to  relieve  Dr.  Burchard  from  this  added 
reproach.  It  is  but  justice  to  him  now  to  say  that 
these  suspicions  were  utterly  unfounded,  ami  that 


566  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

five  minutes  before  he  had  begun  his  address  he 
did  not  know  and  could  not  have  known  that  he 
was  to  be  asked  to  speak.  The  committee  having 
the  matter  in  charge  chose  the  honored  and  dis 
tinguished  Dr.  Thomas  Armitage,  then  pastor  of 
the  Fifth  Avenue  Baptist  Church,  of  this  city,  to 
preside,  and  to  make  the  address  to  Mr.  Elaine. 
Dr.  Armitage  was  absent  in  Philadelphia  preach 
ing  a  dedication  sermon.  It  was  expected  that  he 
would  arrive  in  New  York  in  good  time  to  perform 
this  service.  We  waited  half  an  hour  after  the 
appointed  time  and  he  did  not  arrive.  Then  a 
young  lawyer,  a  member  of  this  church,  came  to 
me  and  suggested  that  I  invite  Dr.  Burchard  to 
take  Dr.  Armitage's  place.  I  hesitated  about 
assuming  that  responsibility  at  so  critical  a  time. 
I  referred  him  to  a  distinguished  Methodist  clergy 
man,  who  was  also  on  the  committee.  His  judg 
ment,  as  well  as  that  of  my  legal  friend,  were 
earnestly  in  favor  of  inviting  Dr.  Burchard,  as  a 
man  who  for  forty  years  had  been  pastor  of  a 
prominent  Presbyterian  church  in  this  city,  and 
who  had  always  honorably  discharged  every 
obligation  in  his  clerical  life. 

"  Again  I  hesitated  and  again  the  company 
waited,  but  Dr.  Armitage  not  arriving,  and  the 
necessity  for  proceeding  being  earnestly  urged, 
the  unfortunate  invitation  was  given  and  Dr. 
Burchard  presided.  The  moment  the  alliterative 
escaped  his  lips  I  saw  that  a  fatal  blunder  had 


FINAL   TRIBUTES.  567 

been  committed.  I  watched  Mr.  Elaine  closely, 
hoping  that  he  would  see  the  purport  of  the 
remark,  and  that  with  his  well-known  tact  he 
would  give  it  a  wise  and  patriotic  reply,  but  it  was 
evident  that  he  did  not  appreciate  the  meaning  of 
the  words  spoken,  as  he  made  no  allusion  to  them 
in  his  reply.  It  is  due  to  Dr.  Burchard's  memory 
that  this  statement  now  be  made.  Whatever  his 
views  afterward  became  nothing  can  be  more 
certain  than  that  he  spoke  what  he  deemed  truth 
ful  words,  and  spoke  them  honestly  on  this  occa 
sion.  He  told  me  afterward  that  the  chief  error 
of  his  words,  the  only  error,  indeed,  was  that  he 
spoke  too  much  truth." 

The  funeral  of  Mr.  Elaine  was  held  on  Monday, 
January  3Oth,  in  the  house  in  which  he  had  died,  and 
in  the  church  he  had  attended,  and  it  was  as 
private  and  simple  as  possible.  Yet  the  most  em 
inent  men  in  the  nation  stood  around  his  bier. 
All  business  in  the  National  Capitol  was  sus 
pended  during  the  period  in  when  the  funeral  ser 
vices  were  in  progress.  The  presence  of  the 
President  and  Cabinet  and  Supreme  Judges  and 
high  officials  of  Congress  and  of  the  Diplomatic 
Corps  was  not  more  significant  than  the  homage 
of  the  waiting  crowds  which,  in  respectful  silence, 
lined  the  streets  through  which  the  funeral  pro 
cession  passed. 

The  casket  in  which  lay  the  remains  of  the 
illustrious  dead  was  placed  in  the  parlor  of  the 


568  JAMXS  C.  BLAINE. 

house,  literally  embowered  in  flowers.  Grouped 
about  it  were  the  widow,  her  daughters,  Mrs. 
Damrosch  and  Miss  Harriet  Elaine  ;  James  G. 
Blaine,  Jr.,  Mrs.  Emmons  Elaine,  Miss  Dodge 
("Gail  Hamilton  ")  ;  R.  G.  Blaine,  brother  of  the 
dead  statesman,  and  his  wife  and  daughter ; 
Hampton  Denman,  of  Missouri,  cousin  of  Mr. 
Elaine ;  Frank,  Henry,  Horace  and  Augustus 
Stanwood,  Walter  Stinson  and  W.  H.  Hatch,  all 
nephews  of  the  dead  man.  Others  present  were 
the  President  and  Vice-President,  and  the  mem 
bers  of  the  Cabinet,  and  their  families  ;  and  many 
Senators,  Representatives,  and  foreign  diplomats, 
while  a  vast  throng  stood  silent  in  the  street 
without.  The  brief  service  was  conducted  by  the 
Rev.  Dr.  T.  L.  Hamlin,  pastor  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church  of  the  Covenant,  of  which  Mr.  Blaine  had 
been  an  attendant.  Standing  by  the  coffin,  he 
offered  a  brief  prayer  for  consolation  for  the 
bereaved.  That  was  all ;  and  the  gathering 
moved  on  to  the  Church  of  the  Covenant. 

This  church  is  a  modern  structure,  with  a  lofty 
picturesque  stone  tower,  capped  with  red  tiling. 
It  is  at  the  corner  of  Connecticut  ave.  and  N  st, 
opposite  the  British  Legation,  and  in  the  heart  of 
the  fashionable  northwestern  section  of  the  city. 
Within  it  was  profusely  adorned  with  palms  and 
flowers.  A  great  and  distinguished  congregation 
was  present,  while  thousands  more  thronged  the 
streets  in  respectful  silence.  At  exactly  noon  the 


FINAL  TRIBUTES.  569 

cortege  entered  the  church.  Dr.  Hamlin  walked 
at  the  head,  holding  in  his  hand  an  open  book 
containing  the  ritual  of  the  Presbyterian  worship, 
and  read  as  he  advanced  selections  from  the  Scrip 
tures.  Behind  him  came  the  honorary  pallbearers, 
two  abreast,  Senators  Hale  and  Frye,  the  rep 
resentatives  of  the  dead  man's  State,  leading  the 
way.  The  family  followed  and  took  the  front 
seat  near  the  coffin. 

When  all  were  seated,  Dr.  Hamlin  began  the 
church  services  with  the  reading  of  selections  from 
the  Scriptures.  The  reading  finished,  prayer  was 
offered  by  Dr.  Hamlin.  This,  which  was  the  only 
approach  to  a  funeral  discourse  that  marked  the 
ceremonies  of  the  day,  was  as  follows  : 

"  Thanks  be  unto  Thee,  Almighty  God,  that  we 
come  into  the  presence  of  death  with  such  words 
of  triumph  as  these.  Thanks  be  unto  Thee,  O 
Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  immortal  life  is  no  more 
a  dim  surmise,  a  probable  speculation,  but  an  as 
sured  fact.  Thanks  be  unto  Thee,  O  Holy  Spirit 
of  God,  that  Thou  hast  revealed  to  the  hearts  and 
minds  of  men  these  truthful  verities  upon  which 
we  rest  when  human  life  passeth  like  a  shadow, 
when  our  hopes  are  all  frustrated  and  our  plans 
all  put  to  naught  in  the  presence  of  the  great 
destroyer. 

"Thanks  be  unto  God,  the  Father  and  the  Son 
and  the  Holy  Spirit  for  Christian  triumph  in  the 
presence  of  the  open  grave.  We  render  Thee  in 


57°  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

this  sacred  and  solemn  place  and  presence,  O  God, 
our  tribute  of  gratitude  for  that  Thou  didst  make 
Thy  servant,  whose  ashes  we  are  now  committing 
to  the  resting  place  of  all  the  living.  We  thank 
thee  for  all  that  mental  endowment  with  which 
Thou  didst  bless  him,  for  all  the  fidelity  in  culture 
and  refinement  in  the  pursuit  of  all  that  makes 
the  human  mind  clear  and  true  and  strong  and 
mighty  that  marked  his  life. 

"We  thank  Thee  for  his  patriotism,  his  serene 
and  unchanging  faith  in  the  institutions  of  the  land 
he  loved.  We  thank  Thee  for  his  services  to  his 
country  in  days  and  years  of  peril,  through  critical 
times  steadily  holding  to  his  confidence  in  the 
great  principles  that  underlie  our  institutions.  We 
thank  Thee  for  his  faith  in  God,  his  faith  in  Jesus 
Christ,  his  acceptance  of  Him  as  his  personal 
Saviour  and  Redeemer.  We  thank  Thee  for  his 
broad  charity,  his  kindness  and  sweetness  of  heart 
that  impressed  all  those  that  love  man  and  serve 
God.  We  thank  Thee  for  his  strong  serenity 
under  the  great  and  crushing  bereavements  that 
in  these  last  years  have  fallen  upon  him  and  upon 
his  household.  We  thank  Thee  for  his  fortitude 
during  all  these  weeks  of  waiting,  for  Iris  patience 
and  his  gentleness.  We  thank  Thee,  Lord,  for  all 
that  our  departed  brother,  through  Thy  grace,  was 
as  man  and  citizen,  as  patriot,  as  a  servant  of  his 
country,  as  husband  and  father  in  the  beautiful 
life  of  the  home. 


TRIBUTES.  $71 

"  And  now  we  entreat  Thee,  O  God,  that  Thy 
comfort  may  come  upon  those  that  are  most 
nearly  bereaved,  that  these  members  of  his  own 
household  and  those  near  kindred  may  be  strong 
in  faith,  trusting  in  God  alone,  and  while  there 
flows  to  them  such  a  stream  of  sympathy  from  all 
parts  of  the  land  and  of  the  world,  we  pray  Thee 
that,  receiving  it  with  gratitude,  they  may  rest  not 
in  it,  but  in  the  priceless  sympathy  of  the  Son  of 
God.  We  entreat  Thee  that  they  may  be  able  to 
look,  not  into  tke  open  grave,  but  into  the  open 
heavens,  not  at  what  they  have  lost,  but  at  what 
the  dear  one  gone  has  left  behind.  And  we 
entreat  Thee  that  the  fragrant  and  precious 
memories  of  this  dear  husband  and  father,  friend 
and  kinsman,  may  be  their  solace  in  these  desolate 
and  trying  days. 

"We  ask  thy  blessings,  O  Lord,  our  God,  upon 
the  Executive  Department  of  th©  Government 
with  which  Thy  servant  was  so  intimately  associ 
ated.  We  commend  to  Thee  the  President  of 
the  United  States,  the  Vice-President  and  all  the 
members  of  the  Cabinet  with  whom  our  departed 
brother  labored.  And  we  entreat  that  upon  them 
all  in  this  sense  of  loss  and  this  new  admonition 
of  their  own  mortality,  there  may  come  a  comfort 
ing  consciousness  and  serene  trust  in  God  and  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

"WeprayThee,  our  Father,  for  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  in  whose  councils  for  so  lono- 


57*  JAMES  G.  BLAME. 

Thy  servant  participated  and  with  such  influence 
for  good.  We  entreat  Thee  that  every  member 
of  the  Congress  may  be  impressed  anew  with 
the  need  of  trust  in  God,  in  preparation  for  this 
event  that  cometh  alike  to  all,  and  that  their  work 
henceforth  may  be  done  under  the  consciousness 
of  their  responsibility  to  God  under  the  power  of 
an  endless  life. 

"We  ask  Thy  blessing  upon  all  our  common 
wealth.  We  commend  to  Thee  especially  the 
State  in  which  our  brother  was  born  and  the  State 
that  adopted  him  and  that  together  rejoice  to-day 
in  his  illustrious  service  ;  and  we  pray  Thee  that 
the  executives  and  legislators  of  all  our  common- 

o 

wealths  may  be  men  of  God,  that  they  may  trust 
and  serve  Thee.  We  ask  Thy  blessing,  O  Lord, 
upon  all  the  people  of  the  land  ;  upon  the  millions 
that  with  singular  fidelity  have  loved  him  whose 
voice  so  many  of  them  have  heard,  whose  counsel 
so  many  of  them  have  followed,  but  who  now  rests 
speechless  in  death.  We  entreat  Thee  that  his 
patriotism,  his  lofty  purposes,  his  sincere  and  con 
stant  love  for  the  institutions  of  the  land  may  ani 
mate  all  the  people  and  may  be  a  blessed  heritage 
for  every  citizen  of  the  Republic. 

"We  commend  to  Thee  the  nations  of  the  earth  ; 
all  those  lands  that  have  felt  the  touch  of  his  hand 
in  the  great  relations  of  diplomacy,  and  we  pray 
Thee  that  there  may  come  to  them  all  a  more  pro 
found  trust  in  God,  in  people,  in  the  liberties 


I 

o 


M 

Q 
Z 

^ 

O 
P^ 
O 


FINAL   TRIBUTES.  575 

wherewith  God  is  making  people  free,  and  in  all 
those  blessed  gifts  that  come  from  Him  to  the 
nation  that  loves  and  serves  the  Lord  of  Hosts. 

4 'And  we  ask  Thy  blessing,  O  Lord,  upon  this 
church.  We  thank  Thee  that  Thy  servant  had 
part  in  its  very  beginning,  that  he  did  not  despise 
the  clay  of  small  things.  We  thank  Thee  that  he 
loved  and  aided  it  in  its  early  days  and  its  progress, 
that  he  worshipped  here  and  sat  at  this  communion 
table.  We  pray  Thee  that  Thou  wilt  grant  to  this 
church,  as  Thou  taketh  from  it  one  and  another, 
the  consolation  of  Thy  holy  spirit  and  Thine  abid 


ing  grace. 


"And  now,  dear  Lord,  as  we  go  hence  and  take 
our  places  about  the  open  grave  and  deposit  there 
this  sacred  and  precious  dust,  wilt  Thou  go  with 
us  as  this  family  return  to  their  desolate  home? 
Wilt  Thou  be  with  them?  Wilt  Thou  make  good 
the  void  that  is  in  their  hearts?  May  this  many 
times  bereaved,  this  sorely  afflicted  household  have 
the  abundant  comfort  and  strength  and  grace  of 
Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord,  and  we  beseech  Thee,  our 
Heavenly  Father,  that  throughout  all  the  land  and 
throughout  all  the  world,  wherever  the  eyes  and 
hearts  of  men  are  turning  at  this  hour  toward  this 
place,  wherever  any  are  sending  to  God  the 
tributes  of  thanks  for  the  services  of  this  life, 
wherever  there  is  sorrow  to-day,  we  entreat  Thee 
that  Thy  presence  may  soothe  every  sorrow  and 


576  JAMES  G.  BLAINE. 

that  the  hope  of  immortality  may  be  inspired 
afresh  in  every  heart. 

"  Forgive  our  sins,  receive  us  all  into  the  number 
of  Thy  dear  children,  help  us  so  to  live  that  we 
shall  be  ready  at  any  moment  to  hear  Thee  say, 
'Son,  daughter,  thy  work  on  earth  is  finished, 
come  home; '  and  so  each,  at  last,  may  there  open 
the  doors  of  the  seat  of  God ;  and  may  we  enter 
in  to  be  forever  blessed." 

The  Lord's  Prayer  was  then  recited  by  the 
pastor  and  a  part  of  the  congregation,  and  the 
benediction  was  invoked  upon  all  present,  and  at 
12.45  tne  church  services  closed;  the  coffin  was 
raised  and  placed  once  more  in  the  hearse,  all  the 
distinguished  concourse  standing  as  it  was  borne 
from  the  church. 

It  was  then  noted  that  Mrs.  Blaine  was  not 
among  the  mourners,  as  had  been  supposed. 
Among  so  many  deeply  veiled  figures  her  form  had 
not  heretofore  been  missed,  but  it  was  now  whis 
pered  that,  overcome  by  grief,  she  had  remained 
at  the  house.  Before  the  starting  of  the  funeral 
procession  from  Lafayette  Square  Mrs.  Blaine  had 
requested  to  be  left  alone  for  a  few  minutes  with 
her  dead.  The  parlor  had  been  cleared  for  this 
purpose,  and  when  Mrs.  Blaine  emerged  she 
made  her  way,  supported  on  the  arms  of  her  son 
and  daughter,  Miss  Harriet,  to  the  room  where 
her  husband  had  died,  and  there  gave  way  to  her 
grief  in  utter  prostration.  Mrs.  Hale  and  other 


FINAL  TRIBUTES.  577 

sympathizing  friends  followed  her  to  the  death 
chamber,  but  their  friendly  ministrations  were  of 
no  avail,  and  Mrs.  "Elaine  was  compelled  to  re 
main  behind. 

The  funeral  procession  next  moved  from  the 
church  to  Oak  Hill  Cemetery,  a  beautiful  spot  on 
the  summit  of  Georgetown  Heights,  Here  are 
the  graves  of  many  famous  dead,  including  that  of 
John  Howard  Payne,  author  of  "Home,  Sweet 
Home."  Here,  too,  two  of  Mr.  Elaine's  children 
had  been  buried.  The  President,  Vice-President, 
Cabinet,  Ministers  and  many  others  accompanied 
the  family  to  the  grave.  There  Dr.  Hamlin  read 
the  simple  committal  service  of  the  Presbyterian 
church,  and  offered  the  following  brief  prayer  : 

"We  thank  Thee,  Heavenly  Father,  that  to  those 
who  trust  in  Christ  the  last  of  earth  is  the  first  of 
heaven.  We  thank  Thee  that  those  solemn  and 
sad  words  ;  'Dust  to  dust,  and  ashes  to  ashes,' 
are  not  spoken  of  the  soul.  We  invoke  Thy  com 
forting  presence  in  this  household  as  they  return' 
to  their  sad  home,  and  beseech  Thee  to  make  good 
by  Thy  grace  the  void  in  their  hearts,  in  those 
saddest  hours  *that  are  yet  to  follow.  May  their 
trust  in  Thee  be  unshaken,  and  the  precious 
memory  of  their  departed  console  them  in  their 
loneliness.  Enable  them  to  look  away  from  the 
open  tomb  into  the  open  heaven,  and  by  the 
vision  of  faith  may  they  see  their  dear  one  safe 
with  Thee  ;  and  when  others  shall  perform  for  us 


57§  JAMES  G.  ELAINE. 

these  last  offices  of  love,  may  they  have  the 
sweet  assurance  that  they  are  forever  with  the 
Lord. 

"  Forgive  our  sins  and  receive  us,  when  this  life 
shall  close,  into  the  everlasting  joy  and  felicity  of 
life  immortal,  in  the  name  and  for  the  sake  of  Jesus 
Christ,  our  Lord." 

Then  came  the  benediction,  and  the  solemn 
rites  were  ended. 

And  thus  was  ended  the  earthly  history  of  one 
of  the  foremost  American  citizens  of  his  age  ;  and 
thus  \vas  stricken  from  the  roll  of  the  living  and 
placed  upon  the  roll  of  the  departed,  one  of  the 
brightest  and  noblest  of  names  in  American  his 
tory — 

"  One  of  the  few,  the  immortal  names 
That  were  not  born  to  die  !  " 


VMk&k*?. 


<&tt  "''  '   x>r"  ' 

sfrP^fe 


M111570 


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